Screaming Infidelities
by tehgreatmystery
Summary: By the age of sixteen, Nami has learned lessons most adults don't even learn. Together with her four friends, she goes through life semi-happily. But, when a face from their past shows up, Nami finds her friendship strained. Better inside. AU On Hiatus!
1. Chapter 1: Drunken Lessons

Screaming Infidelities

Summary: At the age of eight, Nami is alone. She isn't allowed to have friends, and all she does besides schoolwork is get beer for her drunken father. But, after she meets a gang of four misfits, she finds herself with friends for the first time. But, when a girl from their past shows up years later, Nami finds herself caught in a love triangle, and doesn't know quite how to keep her friendship with the group anymore, and does something she didn't know she was capable of… [AU]

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**A/N: I do not own any character in this story. I just love em' to death.  
For those who have read any previous story of mine (and I'm actually hoping you haven't), then know that this will be much better written. (:**

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_Chapter One: Drunken Lessons_

The whole apartment smelt of beer and cigarettes. The walls were yellowed and peeling, and bear cans and bottles littered the whole vicinity. The man responsible was large, with a beer gut cartoonists would be proud to draw. When his wife left him four years ago, taking their older daughter, the man became to be a drunk. His remaining daughter, a four year old, watched in confusion as her Papa became more and more violent, understanding little.

When he wanted her, the girl would come. If he slapped her hard across her pale face and shouted at her to clean up a mess he made, she'd do it silently. She didn't complain, she didn't speak, she hardly dreamt. Her whole life centered on making sure this disgusting excuse for a human being has a beer in the cooler next to him, and a pack of cigarettes on the table.

She could only wait for freedom with his death, which wasn't coming soon. The man, whenever he felt up to it, would grab her collar and hold her close. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and would resist the urge to cringe away. And, he would tell her that he was never going to die, that she was only ever going to be his slave, for as long as she was alive.

Being so young, she believed every word. By the time she was eight, she had given up on nearly every dream she had ever had. Princess, doctor, policeman, writer, actress, and even a chef had all been dreams over the span of eight years. The sole remaining dream for the future was a cartographer. She wanted to draw a map of the whole world, and nothing this drunken man said would change her mind.

On this particular evening, the man was in his usual position – beer in his left hand, nearly empty, cigarettes hanging out of the ashtray and his mouth, and the man himself was lounging in a dirty recliner, the TV casting shadows on the walls behind him. His dirty brown hair hung limply in his eyes, and his stubble desperately needing a razor to go through them.

"Oy girl, get in here!" He barked over the TV. His daughter, tiny from lack of food, slid into the living room, visibly shaking. Slowly, she walked forward, keeping her distance to not get hit or slapped, or even burned by the cigarette. "You look an awful lot like that whore mother of yers, you know that?"

The young girl kept her face as indifferent as possible, and nodded. She didn't dare say a word around her Father except for 'Yes, sir', or if he had asked her a question and wanted an answer. It just wasn't something she took the risk to do. "Get my beer, you worthless trash!" He shouted, throwing the still partially filled can at her. Flinching as the can exploded at her feet, the eight year rushed to grab a beer from the cooler, and instead ran right into his hand.

"I'm glad yer mother left ya' here. Eh, what's yer name anyways?" He asked, grabbing her shirt and pulling her closer. The girl flinched, and tried to pull away. Annoyed at her silence, the man shook her, and let his cigarette fall from his mouth. "Answer me!"

"M-my name is N-Nami, Papa," she finally said, pulling free from his grasp finally. Reaching down, she pulled a new can of beer from the cooler and handed it to him. He swiped the cool can away from her, and put his cigarette back in his mouth. Inhaling deeply, he turned to Nami, who was waiting for her OK to leave the room and go back to reading.

"Nami, eh? What was that only bitch's name? The one yer whore Mamma took with 'er?" He asked, blowing the smoke right into her face. Nami closed her eyes and held her breath until the smoke had left, leaving the smell lingering in her nose and mouth.

"Nojiko, Papa. Her name was Nojiko," Nami said softly, clasping her hands behind her back. She didn't like to stay in the living room with him too long – she was too afraid she'd get hit if she did. Her Papa laughed, and belched loudly at her.

"Get yer ass out of my living room, whatever yer name is!" He barked, pushing her away before she even had a chance to turn. Picking herself up off the ground, Nami nearly ran to her bedroom, tripping along the way. With her father's laughter in her ears, Nami shut the door behind her carefully, not letting it slam and giving Papa an excuse to call her back out there.  
Taking a deep breath, the young girl sat down on her bed, and stared out the window. The only time she was ever allowed to leave the house was for school, and when Papa was sober, he'd go buy more beer and cigarettes. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were poor, but Nami could never quite figure out how he kept on getting money for these things, and the electrical bill. She didn't understand how on Earth he never ran out of his essentials.

As she stared out her window, she saw a group of five kids her age run around in the streets. She liked watching these five – three of them had exotic hair colors, like her – and she sat and watched them whenever she could. From her bedroom window, which was on the third floor, she could see that the obvious leader was the smallest. He had a straw-hat, and he was always leading the group in whatever they played. The second in command was bigger, with a grumpy look on his face, and bright green hair. The other three – a blond whose left eye she had never seen, a blue-haired girl who seemed better dressed than the others, and a black-haired boy with a long nose – went along with everything the other two suggested.

Nami envied them. Sometimes, she'd open the window, and listen to them. The leader was named Luffy, the green haired one Zoro, the long-nosed kid Usopp, the blond Sanji, and the only girl was Vivi. She saw them all at school; Zoro, and Sanji were all in her classes. They were so close, and Nami was intimidated by them. The other kids called them misfits, but they never dared to try and attack them. She didn't know why, though; the only scary one was Zoro.

Once, Nami almost talked to them. She was on her way over to where they were playing when Papa caught her sneaking out. She had gotten hit very hard for that incident…the scar still lingered on her shoulder painfully. The kids, thankfully, hadn't recognized her from school. Thus, her confinement continued. Resisting the urge to cry at her solitude, Nami crawled into bed, and pulled the covers over her head, waiting impatiently for sleep to claim her.

In the morning, the young girl changed quickly. If Papa was still asleep – as he likely was – she'd go outside. She'd go and talk to those happy kids, and make friends. Once her baggy shirt was over her head, and jeans pulled onto her legs, Nami ran her comb through her hair, wanting to fling it across the room. Opening the door as quietly and slowly as she could, Nami poked her head out, brown eyes searching for the recliner. Papa was snoring loudly, a noise she had missed, and she slipped out of her bedroom door. Once she had tip-toed to the front door, she slid open the lock and paused – had he heard? After a second of being frozen to the spot, Nami opened the door just wide enough to slip out, and closed it behind her.

Resisting the urge to run down the hallway, Nami walked as casually as she did on school mornings to the entrance. The man behind the desk didn't pay any attention to her, and she stepped outside for the first time since Friday after school. Smiling, she took a deep breath, and looked around; she had beaten the kids outside.

Walking around her neighborhood, she saw with disgust that it was very much like her apartment; the streets were littered with cigarette butts, beer cans and bottles, and the occasionally piece of furniture that had fallen out the windows. Ignoring the filth, the young girl walked on, hoping to meet the five kids and befriend them.

As the morning progressed, Nami finally saw the leader – Luffy. He was walking quietly, his straw hat on his head as always. Lit up with hope, the young girl rushed across the street, grabbing his arm to stop him. The boy turned, and Nami felt her face flush – she certainly hadn't though any of this through. The young boy stared at her, his charcoal eyes blinking in confusion as he tried to figure out who she was.

"Hiya," he said cheerfully, smiling an ear-to-ear smile at the young girl. Nami blinked, and smiled back at him. "I'm Luffy, who're you?"

"I'm Nami," she said after a second, releasing his arm. From the look of his clothes, he was about as poor as she was – a dirty red shirt, and jeans that were far too long for his small legs. "I-I've seen you and your friends playing, from my bedroom window…"

If Luffy was surprised by this confession, he didn't show it. Instead, his whole face lit up, "I just spent the night at my friend Vivi's house! She left last night, to go live with her Papa." He said, looking quite sad at the idea of his friend leaving. "I tried to stop her, but Zoro told me that it was for the best."

"O-oh…" Nami said uncertainly, not sure why he was telling her this. She didn't have the charisma to make friends, she decided silently. Turning to leave, Luffy grabbed her arm the way she had done to him, and stopped her.

"Wanna be friends?" He asked, grinning again. Nami's face flushed again, and she blinked uncertainly. "You're in Zoro's class! I saw you walking in line with him once, right?"

"Ah, yeah, I'm in Zoro-Sans class," Nami said, biting down at her lip. "Do you…wanna be friends with _me_?" She asked, trying to snuff out the tiny hope that had been developing in her stomach since she had started to talk to him. Luffy laughed, and Nami smiled tentatively.

"Sure! Come on, you gotta meet Usopp and Sanji and Zoro!" He said, taking her hand in his, and running back towards an apartment building across the street from her own. Glancing nervously at the windows of her apartment, Nami allowed herself to be dragged into the building, following Luffy through room after room, until they reached a small apartment.

The other three she had watched from her windows were all huddled by a small TV, watching it lovingly. When the door opened only Usopp looked up, his curly black hair poofing from under his tan bandana, "Hey, Luffy, who's that?" he asked curiously; the other two looked up, recognition dawning on them as Nami waved awkwardly, then at Luffy in wait for his answer.

"This is Nami, and she's our new friend!" He introduced, releasing her hand and crossing his arms against his chest proudly. Nami blushed, and smiled at them all. Zoro grinned, and Sanji laughed.

"H-Hello," she said nervously, and smiled at them all. Usopp was watching her like she was about to attack them, and the other two were grinning at her. "Um…I think I know you two…from class, you know?" She said, trying to sound a bit more positive.

Zoro grinned and stood up. Slowly, he made his way over to her, and when he reached her, she had to look up to see him – he was towering over her. Nami flinched, and took a step back against the doorway. Luffy frowned, and puckered his lips, "Hey, guys, she's our friend!"

"We know," Zoro said, grinning wider. Nami watched him in a mix of fear and curiosity. "Dude, what did you do to her? She looks like she's seen a ghost!" Laughing, Zoro held out his hand for her to shake. Relieved, the red-head shook his head, and all tension left her body. Now a group of five, they huddled around her, asking questions, and supplying their own after her answers.

"How old are ya'?" Usopp asked, sitting cross-legged off to her left. Nami turned to answer him, and grinned.

"I just turned eight!" She said happily, beaming. The boys grinned, and laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Awesome! Sanji and Zoro just turned nine, I'm turning nine in a few months, and Luffy just turned eight," Usopp said cheerfully, and the others nodded. Nami liked the harmony of the group. She liked how they seemed so together, as if they were one. The way they talked to her made her feel as if she was being sucked into it, willingly, and soon she'd also be part of the one.

"How come you've never talked to us before, Nami-Chan?" Sanji asked, rolling a toothpick around in his mouth. It reminded Nami a lot like the cigarettes Papa smoked, but she ignored it. She didn't want to say the wrong thing…

"Because my Papa doesn't like me leaving the house. But, I snuck out today because I wanted to meet you guys," she admitted, shrugging. The boys smiled kindly at this, except for Luffy, who hadn't stopped grinning since the questions began.

"My Sensei doesn't care where I go, as long as I show up for practice every day," Zoro said proudly, sitting a bit straighter. Luffy poked his chest, and the group of children laughed as he flinched back down to his slouching position.

"My Dad's restaurant opens at noon, so that's when I gotta be home. I don't really work, though, so I get to play all the time!" Sanji said, rolling his toothpick around his mouth again. His eyes brightened considerably when he mentioned his Dad's restaurant, Nami noticed.

"My Momma died of sickness last year, and my Poppa is a traveling man, so I live with Luffy!" Usopp said timidly. Luffy nodded, and draped an arm over his friends' shoulder.

"I live with my Grandpa, because I never got a chance to meet my Mom and Dad," he said cheerfully, laughing. "How come your Papa doesn't like you leaving the apartment?" He asked, blinking innocently.

"Because he likes to keep me close by, so I can get his beer and stuff," Nami said, realizing for the first time how incredibly resentful she was of her life. She hated living with Papa, she realized. She never wanted to go home, but instead sit here with her new friends. "I hate him."

The group, noticing the sudden wave of ice that followed her words, sat in silence for a few seconds before Luffy stood up. All eyes turned to him, and Nami noticed that he looked determined all of a sudden. "Let's play something!" He asked, crossing his arms against his chest. The rest of them stood up enthusiastically, and Nami looked around.

"Can we play Pirates again, Luffy?" Usopp asked hopefully. Zoro and Sanji nodded happily, and began to scurry around the room to look for props. Nami turned to Luffy, and bit her lip.

"I dunno how to play Pirates, though," she admitted hesitatntly. Luffy grinned, and walked around her. Nami turned with him, staying in place as she watched him grab a long metal bar from the floor behind her. Handing it to her, Luffy adjusted his straw hat as if preparing for battle.

"OK, I'm the captain, and Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp are the enemy! You're my first mate, and that's your weapon! Zoro uses his wooden swords, Usopp uses a slingshot he made, and me and Sanji don't use anything! Right now, we have to hide because they're gonna come get us, and we need to defend ourselves! Got it?" He explained, taking her hand and rushing her away from the other three. Nami looked behind her, and watched as Sanji waved happily at them.

"I got it!" She cried, grinning as the two went off to hide.

For the next six months, Nami went to school, sat with Sanji and Zoro in class, ate lunch with all of them during lunch, and played tag with them at recess. Though they didn't understand completely why she couldn't leave after school, the four instead developed a system of talking to her by using Usopp's skills as a shooter to toss rocks with notes on them up to her window. Immediately, Nami would write back, and throw the note down.

Though a weird friendship, the five had never found themselves happier – even without their other friend, Vivi. Carefree as they were, they forgot about the blue haired girl as the months progressed, focusing only on the next adventure they would embark on. Clueless, Nami's Papa never noticed she was gone due to the timeframe she had planned out – he slept until four or five PM on weekends, and then remained in his chair and drank until he passed out, and since Nami was on her own for school, she didn't have to deal with him.

Nami could not remember a time when her mother and sister lived with her. She knew her sisters name – Nojiko – but the most she could remember of her mother was her looks – tall, slender, with bright orange hair and chocolate brown eyes. Just like Papa said, the youngest daughter looked an awful lot like her mother in that way that Nojiko could never manage. There was one picture of the three girls; Nojiko with her bright blue hair, clutching her Mama's arm and looking up at her, and a four year old Nami cradled in her Mama's arms, all three of them laughing at the camera.

"Girl, where do you think yer going?!" Papa shouted as Nami reached for the front door handle. Turning in fear, she gazed up at her Papa, slightly surprised that he had left his chair. Before, she hadn't noticed how incredibly tall he was – and round. He lived off pizza and hamburgers, along with his beer, and Nami only managed to grab the scraps.

"School, Papa, it's a Thursday," Nami said softly, adjusting her bag slightly. Her heart was racing in her chest – all she wanted to do was get out of his sight as soon as possible, but he didn't seem to want that.

"School? Yer going to _school_?! Like hell you are!" He screamed, grabbing her hair and pulling her backwards, dragging her into the living room. Crying out in her pain, Nami's bag fell pathetically to the floor, and she gripped his hands to keep her hair from being ripped from her head. "You ain't leaving this apartment until it's spotless, you hear me?!"

"But Papa, I have to go to school!" Nami cried, shutting her eyes in the pain. Tears stung in the corners of her eyes, but she didn't dare let them fall. She never let them fall, no matter what happened.

"Don't you talk back to me, you little whore!" Papa screamed back, throwing her roughly against the floor. Face landing in broken glass from the rare bottle of beer rather than can, Nami pushed herself up, one hand massaging her head, and the other pressed against the cut. "If you so much as put one of yer filthy feet out of this apartment while I'm gone, I'll beat yer ass so hard, yer whore of a Mamma will feel it!"

With that, he kicked her elbow, causing her to fall down and hit the beer glass once more. Grabbing a cigarette pack from the table, Papa stormed away, slamming the apartment door behind him. Tears stinging her eyes again, Nami sat up, still massaging her head. She had never had to stay home from school before…but, it was her fault. Luffy and she had stayed up rather late, passing notes back and forth through her window, and she had woken up late. If she had left five minutes early, she'd have been happily outside with her friends…

Standing up shakily, Nami walked into their dingy kitchen and gagged – what on Earth had Papa done to this place?! Holding her nose with her hand, she left the tiny room and ran to the bathroom. In the dirty mirror on the wall, she saw that the cut from the shattered glass was small – it would heal quickly enough. Grabbing an old bandage, Nami stuck the protector to her cheek, and left the room again.

The worst place in the whole apartment was the kitchen, judging by the smell, and this was where Nami had decided to begin her newfound cleaning duties. Just as she began to scrub the countertop clean of ash, cigarette butts, and cans into a garbage bag she found under the sink, the young girl heard the unmistakable noise of rock hitting a bed. Placing the bag on the floor so it would not spill, her walked to her room and picked up her new message –

'Where ar you?! – Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp'

Nami sighed, and flipped over the note and grabbed a pen from the broken nightstand to write her reply.

'Go to school without me. Papa wants me to clean – Nami'

It was a rather sad note, Nami decided. Dropping it out the window, she closed the dusty screen and continued on with cleaning the kitchen. Within two hours, the counter was clean, the sink empty, all paper plates in the trash bags, no beers to be seen, and not even a hint of ash. Nami felt rather proud of her handiwork – she didn't think this room had been this clean since Mamma left with Nojiko.

Next, she decided, would be the living room – can after can after can after can laid around the yellowed room, and Nami scowled. It had never occurred to just _how_ many cans of beer you could drink in one sitting. Sighing, she grabbed another bag – how long had these even been there anyways? – and picked up each can. Holding each smelly metal shape as if a piece of bloody cloth, Nami daintily dropped the cans into a trash bag, finishing after two and half bags worth of cans.

Tying up the bags, Nami placed the two full ones next to the other four she had resulted from the kitchen. For the rest of the school day, the young red head worked, and within four hours after finishing the kitchen, the place was so clean, she was sure Papa would like it. Exhausted, but proud, Nami walked back to her – newly cleaned – bedroom, and opened the window. Looking down, she saw her friends below her window, sitting down waiting for her.

Luffy was the first to see her, as he had been intently staring at the window. Jumping up, he pulled Usopp up with him, and pointed to the window. Slowly, Sanji and Zoro rose with them, and Usopp waved her down; the signal for a note. Immediately, Nami ducked down, and watched as four rocks soared over her head, each careful not to hit her.

'Ar you down yet? – Luffy'

'hury up and come downstares, becuz luffy's aknoying! – Zoro'

'come downstares and play pirates with us nami! – Sanji'

'Come bac downstares so we can play together agan – Usopp'

Nami sighed at their horrid spelling, but smiled. They missed her, she realized happily. With tired hands, she grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and untied each note and tossed all the rocks but one back down to them. Sucking on the tip of her pen, she tried to think of a good excuse to not come downstairs and play, no matter how badly she wanted to.

'I can't, because my Papa will be back soon. You guys go ahead and play and I'll see you all tomorrow! – Nami'

Tying to the remaining rock, she dropped it down, and poked her head through the window. Watching from her window, she saw Luffy eagerly rip the note off the rock, read it slowly, and frown up at her. Sanji read it next, then Zoro, and finally Usopp. Each one of her friends frowned at her, and grabbed for the pen. Holding it high over his head, Luffy held the other three back, obviously demanding first dibs on writing first.

Grinning, Nami ducked down beneath the window, and tried not to laugh openly. Sure, her cheek was throbbing, and her head aches from all the chemicals she had used that day, but she was _happy_. Happier than she had been even with Mamma! The rock flew over her head, and landed on her bed lightly. Grabbing it just as eagerly as Luffy did, she couldn't help but laugh at the even worse spelling.

'NO! come downstares now! we wana play pirates nami! – Luffy  
come on, nami! we mis playng with you! – Zoro  
dont you wana play with us no more nami? – Sanji  
How come your papa maid you cleen? Come downstares anyways! – Usopp'

Rolling her eyes, the young red head was about to write back when she heard the door slam open. Smile wiped off her face immediately; Nami grabbed the note and crossed out their message, scribbling her own down quickly.

'Papa's back, so I'll see you tomorrow! – Nami'

Dropping it down, she closed the window and raced off her bed to go see her Papa's reaction to the newly cleaned apartment. Careful to keep her face indifferent, she opened the bedroom, and tentatively left the sanctuary of her bedroom. Her Papa was dressed in the same clothes he had left in, but there was a drunken way he walked that told Nami he hadn't wanted to come home.

"What the fuck happened to my house?" He demanded, looking around with narrowed eyes. Nami flinched, and closed her bedroom door. At the new noise, Papa turned to her, his blood shot eyes looking like something right out of that Halloween movie Nami, Zoro, and Sanji had watched for their party last month.

"I cleaned it, Papa, just like you asked!" Nami said proudly, forgetting how her answers only seemed to aggravate him, how if she dared as said one word out of place, she was slapped across the mouth hard enough to cut her mouth on a tooth. All this has been wiped from her memory – for once, in the whole time since Mamma left, the place didn't look like crap. It looked like an actual house in which two people lived comfortably.

"Cleaned…? Get over here you fucking bitch!" Papa screamed, reaching Nami before she even had a chance to move away. Grabbing her neck, he pushed her against the wall and held her there painfully. Air cut off, Nami grabbed at his hands, desperately trying to free herself. "You're just like her! You're just fucking lucky that you're good at getting my beer! Other than that, you're a worthless piece of trash, do you hear me?! You'll never amount to nothing but a beer-getter!" He screamed in her face, and Nami couldn't smell any alcohol. Her Papa wasn't drunk. He was just angry.

"P-Papa…! Pa…pa, let me g-go!" Nami gasped out, her face slowly turning blue. Her Papa dropped her, and she landed pathetically on the ground at his feet, coughing. The sober man glared down at her, and glanced in to her bedroom. Seeing the note from earlier, his eyes opened as wide as they could possibly go. "P-papa?" Nami choked out, looking at her Father fearfully.

"You got someone at school you buddying up with, eh?! You got someone that makes you feel special?! Lemme tell you one thing, you bitch; if there's one thing this family has, it's the fucking ability to repel love! You ain't mean nothing to whoever the fuck sent this, you hear me?! You ain't never gonna be nothing to no one!" He screamed, kicking his daughter harshly. Nami cried out in pain again, laying there in a heap as her father left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Painfully, Nami pulled herself up into a standing position, clutching her thigh where his foot had connected with her flesh. Tears streaming down her face in both pain and confusion, she limped painfully to her room. Seeing the notes on the bed, she felt more tears fall – Papa was right. He had loved Mamma and Nojiko, but they left. And he didn't love her, that was obvious, and here she was. Opening the window to let air in, she looked down at her 'friends'. Tears fell from her eyes, and she wiped them away hastily.

Luffy looked up, his eyes confused. Before Nami could shrink into her room, she knew that he had seen her. And even three stories up, it was obviously that there was a blue bruise around her neck, and tears falling from her eyes. Closing the window, she curled up into a ball and waited for sleep to claim her.

A few minutes later, Nami heard thundering footsteps in the hallway. Wimpering in fear, she shut her eyes tightly and tried to ignore whoever it was. They stopped, and Nami let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, before she could even get up to see who was there, she heard the front door open loudly. Nami jumped up, and threw herself against her bedroom door, anything to stop whoever it was from reaching her.

"She did a good job, huh?" A familiar voice said. The footsteps were entering the living room, and she shut her eyes even tighter, wishing beyond anything else that she was dreaming, and it was just her Papa, coming back to drink again.

"I don't care. Where's her room?" Another familiar voice said, more seriously than Nami had ever heard it. She felt the knob turn under her arm, and immediately fell backwards onto the floor; covering her head from any attacks that might come. "Nami?"

Eyes still shut tightly, Nami shook her head, tears falling from her eyes despite this. She didn't want him here. Either of them, because if Papa came back, and saw her with someone else…  
"Nami, I won't hurt you," he promised, kneeling down next to her. Nami squealed in disbelief, and slid away, hitting the bed frame painfully. Eyes opened for the first time since she had thrown herself against the door, she stared in the face of her best friend, and wished that he was gone. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

"G-go away…! If P-papa comes back, and y-you're here…just g-go! Go away Luffy!" She cried out, trying to kick him away. Luffy didn't move, but watched her impassively. "G-go!" She cried again, her chest shaking with sobs she was trying to keep inside. Luffy moved towards her, and they both remained completely silent. Slowly, she smoothed her legs down, keeping them straight. Lowering her arms, she wrapped his own around her, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"I won't let anyone else hurt you, Nami. I promise."

It was the words she had been wishing to hear since Mamma left. Letting out a sob, she raised her own hurting arms, and held him close. Tears falling quicker from her face than she had ever allowed, the two sat there, friend in friend's arm. If a stranger saw them, he'd have thought he was her brother with the way he held her. The only thing that matter to her, however, was Luffy.

Though she hadn't heard him, Zoro had also entered her room, and wrapped his stronger arms around her. Together, the two boys – and the strongest of the group – held the small girl, allowing her to cry freely on their shoulders for however long they needed.

Sanji and Usopp had been sent home by these two, but it didn't matter. Nami had never wanted this, but it was enough. She didn't need all of them there to know that they cared – she just needed one of them by her side as she cried.

It was all she had ever needed, Nami realized as she sobbed. Sanji and Usopp just made the deal all the more better.

**A/N: And…that's it! Tada! X] I really hope you guys like this chapter…it took me a while to write! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible, I promise!**


	2. Chapter 2: High School Sucks

Screaming Infidelities

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**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! Honestly, they nearly made me cry…I'm such a wuss. X] Please enjoy chapter two.  
I do not own any characters, I just love em'.  
For this chapter, it'll be a bit…boring, to be honest. Just a look past Nami's horrible home-life and into the life as a teen! =D Please enjoy.**

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_Chapter Two: High School Sucks_

"Hey Nami, you comin' or what?!" Zoro called up the stairs at her apartment. He had been waiting impatiently for his friend for nearly three minutes, and was getting bored of waiting. Not much about him had changed in the eight and half years they had been friends – he was still grumpy and serious, and rather impatient. The red head heard his call, and sighed. For the past month since school had started, he had been doing this every morning.

"Jesus Christ, hold on!" She called down, walking back towards her room to grab her bag. On her way, she pulled the beer bottle from her Papa's fist and placed the empty glass on the counter. Ignoring the dirty rooms, she walked into her own bedroom and went to the bed. She took a bit of pride in keeping her own room clean – even if it was still dirty due to her inability to vacuum, or clean the carpet. Ignoring this also, Nami grabbed her bag and left the apartment swiftly.

Meeting Zoro at the bottom of the stairs, she grinned at him happily. He smirked, and readjusted his bag on his shoulder. "You take forever," he told her, and together the two walked down the hallway and to the next flight of stairs. As they passed by his apartment, Zoro turned the knob to check if it was locked.

"Not everyone wakes up at five in the morning to train, you know," Nami said, scowling. Zoro's smirk widened, and he shrugged. There wasn't anything she could say that would upset him, as she had realized years ago, but she still tried.

"Yeah, and not everyone stays up until three in the morning reading, now do they?" He asked slyly, raising one green eyebrow at her. Nami grinned – he had her there. For the remainder of the walk outside, the two were silent. When they passed by the lazy doorman, the two grinned simultaneously at the other three waiting for them outside.

"There you are! What takes you two so long in the mornings?!" Their long-nosed, bushy black haired friend asked, trying to look intimidating as he glared at them from beyond his nose. Nami rolled her eyes and didn't reply, but Zoro glared right back at him. Usopp shivered, and looked away.

"Nami takes too long in the morning," he muttered, resting his hands behind his head. Usopp sighed, and Nami grinned. Together, the five set off to the right, heading for their high school as they did five days of the week.

"It's because she's a _lady_, Marimo!" Sanji said with his cigarette hanging from his teethe loosely. Though she greatly resented it, Nami had never said a word against it. It was, she had told herself when he started, his own choice. It had also been nearly five years since he started.

"No, it's because she stays up and reads!" Zoro retorted as his green eyebrows knitted together. Usopp rolled his eyes, but Nami and Luffy didn't pay much attention.

"Nami, I need help with my homework again," Luffy said to his friend, ignoring the other two's fight. Nami sighed, and ran a hand through her orange hair. He _always_ needed help, Nami had realized.

"What subject?" She asked, looking at him. At these words, his whole face lit up, and he pulled out a worn out book from his bag. Flipping it open, Nami saw the sheet of paper stuck between the pages, and gently took the whole thing from his hands. Reading over the questions, and sighing at the blank notebook paper he had tried to start on. "It's only two questions, you know that Luffy?"

He frowned at this, and puckered his lips again. "I know, but I don't get it!" He said, stepping over Sanji's leg as he went to swipe Zoro off his feet. Nami sighed, handed Luffy his book back, and held a finger to indicate she'd help in a minute. Grabbing the back of the blonde shirt, she pulled him away from Zoro – and Usopp, who had inevitably gotten stuck in the middle.

"Wait until I'm done helping Luffy!" She told him, releasing him and turning back to Luffy. As she expected, this resulted in a taunt from Zoro, and the fighting commenced. Ignoring the three – Usopp still stuck in the middle – she slowly explained to Luffy what the teacher was asking. It took the whole walk, but by the time the five had reached the school, Luffy had scribbled down the two correct answers, and was grinning happily again.

"Luffy, h-help me!" Usopp squeaked, and the two turned. Laughing, Nami watched as Luffy joined the brawl. Though fighting of any sort was directly punishable by any teacher, these four always got away with it – the last time someone tried to interfere, they had gotten the worst of the fight. After a few seconds, Nami turned away, and watched the other students socialize before the bell, taking advantage of the still warm, post-start of school weather.

"Oy, stop it you four!" Nami finally called to them, not even turning away as she watched. Half-expecting them to continue, she listened with satisfaction as the four ceased. Together, the four boys joined her in watching the other students, until Luffy yawned loudly.

"Hey, Usopp, what classes do we have?" He asked, scratching the back of his messy black hair, obviously bored with school. Nami grinned, having memorized her schedule and the other four as well.

"It's a blue day, so we have fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth," Usopp answered promptly, "So, we have English, then gym, then history, then lunch, and finally math."

(**A/N: in my school, we have red days and blue days – red days are the first four classes, and blue days are the last. For example, my schedule is; red days: biology, orchestra, German, then English, and blue days: US history, health, art, then math. Lunches are somewhere in your third/seventh hour, depending on what class you have. That will be explained later.**)

"Hey, I'll see you guys later – I see an extremely attractive young lady that-a-way!" Sanji told them, grinning widely as he rushed off to a lonely-looking sophomore. Usopp recognized her from a couple of their classes, but didn't bother to go over and say hi.

"Nami," Luffy whined, sitting on the ground and pouting, "How come we gotta go to school anyways?" He asked, crossing his arms against his chest. Nami watched in slight amusement, and shrugged. "I'd rather fight!"

"Being strong is important, yeah, but getting your education is just as important, Luffy!" Nami said as she waved her hand in the air, as if she was waving away his question. It was a habit she had picked up that annoyed her, but one she wasn't quite able to stop. Like how Luffy picked his nose occasionally; annoying, but unstoppable.

"But, if you're strong, you can protect the people who are smart!" Luffy exclaimed, nodding his head seriously. The red head felt like hitting him on the head at that comment. "So, I don't need to be smart as long as I keep my Nakama safe!"

"Hear, hear!" Zoro said, lounging on a bench nearby. Nami rolled her eyes at the green haired man, and turned to Usopp, just _daring_ him to agree. "Re_lax_ Nami, we're just messing around." Zoro said, laughing. Nami sighed, and sat down next to him, leaning forward on her palm as she watched Usopp tell Luffy another one of his ridiculous stories.

"How are things at your place?" Nami asked quietly, keeping her eyes on the two other boys. Out of all her friends, Zoro had the most similar story to her – no Dad, just his druggie Mom. Unlike the other three, these two were the ones that lived in the worst part of town – since Luffy's Grandpa was so high in the police force, Usopp and Luffy lived pretty comfortably, and Sanji's Dad had made it pretty well in his restaurant.

"Same as always; Ma's high, Dad ain't comin' home…nothing out of the ordinary besides us suddenly moving. You?" Zoro sighed, spreading his arms across the back of the wooden bench. For the longest time, he had kept it a big secret about his life, but Nami had figured it out, seeing as she had lived across the street from him for so long.

"Nothing different; Papa's still a drunken bastard, and Mom's still gone. Everything's the same as it was when Mom left," she said softly, her brown eyes narrowed in disgust. After Zoro and his Mom moved in downstairs, Nami realized that she at least had a little bit better – at least what her Papa did was legal. Though, she recalled, hitting a child wasn't…

"Story of our life, eh?" He asked softly, sighing, "Those three, they're the lucky ones." Always slightly resentful of this three other guy-friends, Nami tried her very best not to sink to that. But, she reminded herself, Zoro had known those three longer than she had, so he had every right to feel whatever way he wanted about them.

"They are, but aren't we lucky too? Not many in our situation fight it and win, you know," Nami pointed out, standing up, "We're the strongest of them! We're the ones that managed to keep on resisiting the temptation when we didn't need to."

Zoro stared at her for a second, and finally smirked at his friend, "You sure about that, Nami? You don't usually spout bull shit like…maybe you _are_ drunk!" He said, laughing as her face flushed. "Relax, I'm messing around."

Nami grinned, and turned back to Luffy and Usopp, who were currently talking to a very pretty girl in their grade – a sickly teen by the name of Kaya. For as long as they had known her, Usopp had taken a liking to her he had never shown anyone else, and everyone (minus Luffy, who didn't care for such things) knew that she felt the same, and they would inevitably wind up as a couple. It was only a matter of time, Nami had told Sanji one day.

"How are you feeling, Kaya?" Usopp was asking in a soft voice he reserved for those times he asked how she was feeling. Walking over to the three, Luffy grinned happily at her, and Kaya smiled at her kindly.

"Much better, Usopp-San, thank you," she said in that feeble voice she had. Truthfully, Nami pitied the young girl. Kaya was like a little sister to her – she always did anything to help – but she simply pitied her poor health, and no matter what her many doctors did to help, she was always sick with some sort of infection.

"Hey, Luffy…look," Zoro said from behind, appearing from nowhere. All the heads turned to him, then followed his hand to the far left at whatever he was pointing out, "Do you see it? Blue hair," He said, trying to find the person again.

"Blue hair?! Maybe it's Vivi!" Luffy said excitedly. Usopp grinned as well, but turned back to Kaya – she was obviously more important to him. Nami, however, felt her stomach tense. It had been a long standing fear of hers that if Vivi were to ever come back, they'd take her back in with open arms and leave the red head in the dust. They had proved time and time again that they'd _never_ do that, but that was what a fear was; irrational.

"Maybe. It was definitely a chick, and the hair was a lot shorter than Vivi would have liked it…like, not even shoulder length short," Zoro said, shrugging. Luffy was straining his neck to see the Vivi-look-alike, and Nami joined in him.

"I see her!" Luffy said after a second, dropping down and frowning at Zoro, "It can't be her! The color is right." He said, sounding so serious that Nami nearly asked him if he was being serious. Instead, she continued to look, and when she found the blue-haired teen, felt her stomach flip so forcefully, she slipped and fell on the ground. "Nami?" Luffy asked, blinking at as his friend.

The only person she had ever seen with blue hair of that shade and length was her older sister. The style and color were so incredibly similar, it seemed impossible not to be the same person. But, Nojiko had been gone for _twelve_ years, living with Mamma, Nami reminded herself bitterly. She wouldn't come back just to see _her_, after all, Nami was just the annoying baby sister that got to live with Papa.

"_I don't wanna go with Mamma, Nami!"_

_"Then stay here with me, Jiko-Chan," Nami said, clutching her sister's hand tightly. Eyes hardening at the nickname, Nojiko tried to pull her hand out of Nami's, to no avail.  
"I told you not to call me that!"_

_"Don't leave me, Jiko-Chan, I don't wanna live with just Papa! I wanna live with you and Mamma and Papa like before!" Nami cried, hot tears pouring down her face. Nojiko rolled her eyes and pulled her hand free of Nami's, stepping back so she could avoid her sister if she did it a second time._

_"But Mamma wants you to. Don't you wanna make Mamma happy, Nami?"_

_Hiccuping, the four year old nodded, wiping her eyes automatically. "Doesn't Mamma want me?"_

_"She does, but she says you gotta stay with Papa until we come home. Can you do that, Nami-Chan?"_

_Nodding again, Nami smiled watery at her sister. Nojiko smiled back, leaned forward and kissed the younger girls cheek, and left the bedroom they had shared.  
"I'll come back soon, I promise!"_

"Nami, wake up!" Luffy was shouting, kneeling next to her and shaking her. Blinking, the red head looked at Luffy in confusion for a second before, slapping his hands away.

"What happened?" Zoro asked, extending his hand to help her up. Taking it, Nami felt her arm nearly being pulled out of her socket as she was lifted up to her feet. Balancing herself, she shook her head, and dusted herself off. "Like hell! What happened?!" Zoro said in irritation.

"I was remembering something! Just forgot about it!" She snapped, storming back to the bench and grabbing her bag. Feeling someone grab her arm lightly, she tried to pull it free, but realized whoever had grabbed her was too strong for that. Turning, she glared at Luffy, who kept her gaze expressionless.

"What did you remember?" He asked, and Nami was surprised to hear that he didn't sound angry with her. Instead, his tone was as innocent and friendly as it would be for anyone. Nami felt her heart tug at this, and looked down at her hands before answering.

"The last conversation I ever had with my sister, Nojiko," she said softly, shaking her head as if it was nonsense. Before he could even answer, Nami sighed and cut him off, "She left when I was four, with my Mom. I have a picture of her in my room, but it's not something I really remember clearly, so I just don't talk about it."

Luffy looked at her in his innocence, boring holes through her eyes and into her brain. Feeling restless, she tried again to pull her arm free, failing once more. "Let's go see if it's her!" he exclaimed, grinning at her and turning. Before she could protest, the two were running towards the crowds of people by the doors, weaving in and out of conversations. Some students glared at the two, other's ignored them, but Nami noticed a dozen or so girls looking lovingly at her friend, and glaring at her in annoyance. Not that she hadn't noticed those looks before – she knew how popular her friends her, whether or not they did.

Stopping for a bit of a rest, Luffy looked around, keeping his hold on her hand firm. "I don't see her anymore, Nami!" He pouted, looking back at like she was supposed to fix it. Nami sighed, and tried to speak past her gasps for air. "Maybe she went inside?"

"STOP!" She cried, wrenching her arm free of his impossibly strong grip. Luffy looked at her and laughed his ridiculous laugh. Nami panted, and adjusted her bag before it slipped off her shoulder, surprised that it hadn't during the run. "Jesus, Luffy, don't you know anything?! We can't just run up to and ask, 'Oh, hey, you look a lot like my estranged sister who I haven't seen in twelve years!'!"

Luffy grinned happily at her, and Nami knew she hadn't gotten through his thick skull. "Shishishi, sure we can!" He said simply, but was cut off by the bell. Relieved, Nami pulled her bag on her shoulder higher, and stormed past him. Without looking, she knew that her best friend had gotten in step with her, keeping up easily. "Aw, Nami, come on. Why _can't_ we do that?"

"Because I don't want to see her!" She hissed, walking into the building like the other sheep-like students around her. "If she recognizes me – which I highly doubt – then I'll talk to her. I'm not going out of my way to talk to one of the people that left me with my Father."

She knew she had hit the nail with this remark, for Luffy grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking away. Annoyed, students pushed past them, mumbling to themselves. "I get it. Come on, let's go up to our locker." He said, grinning again. Unable to resist, Nami smiled back, and the two continued walking up to the locker they shared. During her Sophomore year, Nami had taken stops at Luffy's locker, to talk or walk home, and was positively disgusted by his lack of organization. Since then, the two shared a locker, for the sole sake she could make sure he was organized.

When they reached it, Nami grinned happily at her blond haired friend, who had the locker one away from her – a space thing she developed in seventh grade – flirting casually with the girl he had noticed early. "Hey, Sanji, you'll never guess who we found today!" Luffy said excitedly, rushing past Nami to tell the story before her. Knowing it was pointless to try and stop him, Nami walked to her locker

"Yep, Nami says that the girl was her sister! We went to find her, but Nami told me to stop," Luffy was saying to the two people. Rolling her eyes at Sanji, Nami pushed Luffy out of the way, and began to twirl the lock to the correct numbers. Unperturbed, Luffy continued to tell Sanji about her sister, and how he was so positive that it was actually Nami's sister.

"Luffy-San, how can you be so sure it's Nami-San's sister?" The girl asked with a voice that sounded vaguely familiar to the red head. Not bothering to look, Nami pulled the metal contraption down and slid it off the locker easily. When she opened the metal door, however, she nearly screamed as books, papers, notebooks, and other items began to fall down on her. A waterfall of Luffy's school equipment fell down on her, causing her to fall down on the floor.

"Ah, Nami-Chan!" Sanji said, reaching for her hand amongst the rubbish. The hallway began to laugh at the pile of junk that had rained down, everyone except the three friends – even Sanji's latest lady friend was laughing behind her hand. Nami grabbed his hand, and pulled herself up, a hand on her head where a particularly sharp edge of a book had hit her.

"I'm fine," she said, extremely red-faced. Turning to Luffy, who took a step back, she felt tears of embarrassment sting in her brown eyes, and pushed past him. Sanji sighed, and pulled a toothpick out of his pocket – a poor substitution for his nicotine, but this _was_ school…

"If you had kept your stuff neat like Nami-Chan's, that wouldn't have happened, you idiot," he said, reaching down to pick up Luffy's crap. Knowing he had done something wrong, Luffy also bent down to help, grabbing each book and notebook and placing them neatly in the locker; just as Nami had been asking him to all year. "She was holding her head rather hard…I wonder if she's alright." Sanji said after a moment.

"I'll skip fifth hour and go make sure!" Luffy said, grinning as he dropped the whole arm load of supplies back onto the floor and dashed off. Sanji watched him go with the strongest urge to catch him and throw all these books one by one at him. Sighing, he began to pile the stuff as neat as possible back into the locker, not noticing as a taller figure approached him from behind.

"Locker problems?" The person asked, kneeling down to help. Without even needing to look, Sanji knew she was a senior, and by the time he had looked up, he mentally added that she was an incredibly _pretty_ senior. Grinning, he shrugged, and finished putting Luffy's crap back where it belonged. Locking the lock on the door, he stood up and looked the senior in the face.

She had green-brown eyes that were both narrow and round at the same time, a heart shaped face, creamy pale skin, and blue hair that was pulled back by a head-band. Completely forgetting Luffy's story about Nami-Chan's blue-haired sister, he stuck out his hand and rolled the toothpick around in his mouth. "I'm Sanji," he introduced politely.

"Nojiko. What grade are you in?" Nojiko asked, smiling at him happily. Leaning on her left arm against the now semi-clean shut locker, she crossed her arms against her chest and Sanji noticed a decorative tattoo across her chest, disappearing behind the collar of his plaid shirt.

"I'm a junior this year, Nojiko-San," he said, pulling out his own fifth hour supplies. Waiting patiently for his answer, his spit out the toothpick on the floor, and closed his locker door quickly.

"Junior, eh? Would you happen to know a girl named 'Nami'? I don't know if she's a junior or a sophomore this year, but it would definitely be helpful if you could tell me, Sanji-Kun," she said, smiling at the blond charmingly. Sanji grinned immediately – both at the way she was depending on him, and mention of his best girl-friend. Nodding, he leaned against the locker with a grin on his face.

"I sure do. Nami-Chan is one of my closest friends. Her idiot locker-buddy doesn't know what organization is, and when she opened up her locker, all of his stuff fell on her. I think she went down o the nurse; Nami-Chan was holding her head kind of strangely," he answered immediately, frowning as Nojiko immediately began to leave. "Er…nurse's office is down by the main entrance!"

Waving back in thanks, Nojiko nearly ran down the hall, pushing past everyone. Sanji watched her go, and grinned. "Now there's my type of girl!" he declared, forgetting completely about the other girl that had watched him flirt with Nojiko the whole time, and was now blushing furiously at being so forgotten and rushing down the hall.

"Well, you definitely broke the skin. You're lucky you didn't pass out – that was a serious hit," the nurse said, handing Nami an ice-pack. Grateful, Nami tentatively placed the cold pack on her head, wincing as the weight touched the cut/bruise. "And _you_, young man," the nurse said, turning to Luffy so fast, Nami wondered if she had been waiting to scold him the whole time, "keep your locker cleaner to avoid something like this. You could have seriously hurt her!"

Luffy nodded, expressionless, but Nami had a feeling he was thinking about something. His lips had been puckered, and brows knitted together – sure sign of thinking on Luffy's part. "I will, don't worry Oba-san!" He promised, grinning at her happily. Satisfied, the nurse stood up and looked down at Nami with softer eyes.

"Nami, dear, you can just stay here until your head stops hurting. You can stay with her as well, if you'd like," she said to them both, smiling as they nodded. "I'll be in my office if you need me." She said, leaving the two friends alone. As soon as she was out of the spinning chair, Luffy reoccupied it, spinning around childishly.

"I'm really sorry, Nami. I didn't know they would all fall out at once," Luffy said, glancing at her every time the rotation passed her. Giving up on watching him, the red head kept the ice pack touching the bruise/bandage and laid down on the rather squishy mattress. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and listened to the chair squeaking as Luffy spun.

"Excuse me; is this Nami-Chan's room?" A new voice said after a while. Eyes fluttering open, Nami sat up, ignoring the ice pack as it fell off her head and onto the bed. Feeling something wet and thinking it was the cut reopened, Nami's hand went to her hair, only to find it extremely cold. Luffy had stopped spinning, and had just been watching her.

"Nami-San? Oh, yes, her room is back there, but I think she's sleeping at the moment," Oba-San said, and Nami heard surprise in her voice. Luffy seemed to have also fell asleep in the chair, and was currently snoring loudly with a blanket draped over his shoulders. Smiling at the sight, Nami tuned back in to what Oba-San was saying. "If you want to go back and see her, be my guest. First room on the left."

Before she had time to react, Nami watched as a tall, slender young woman walked into the room. Creamy skin that matched her own perfect, Nami stared in disbelief at the blue-haired senior in front of her. "Hey, Nami-Chan," She said, her green-brown eyes smiling so fiercely, Nami wondering secretly if she was about to cry. At the sound of her voice, Luffy snorted awake, looking around in confusion.

"Huh…?" Luffy asked, yawning widely. Nami watched him in amusement, and then turned back to the woman, who was watching Nami intently.

"Hello. Do I know you?" She asked politely, knowing very well who the woman was. There was no way those eyes could belong to anyone other than her older sister, but it had been twelve years, and she didn't really _want_ to see Nojiko-San again, so…why not play stupid for a bit? She did recently have a head injury…

"You certainly do, Nami-Chan! God, it's been twelve years, but how could you possibly forget _me_?!" Nojiko cried, pulling another chair over and sitting down in it. Luffy watched the two in sleepy curiosity. Nami kept her eyews on her sister, praying silently that Luffy never made the connection that this had been the girl they had noticed earlier…

"Er…I'm sorry, nothing comes to mine," Nami said in that polite voice. Nojiko's smile slipped right off her face. Feeling a savage wave of satisfaction at this, Nami looked down and studied her nails as if she had never seen the hard things at the end of her fingers.

Luffy continued to stare at the two, and by the time Nami looked up at him to shoot him a look, comprehension had dawned on his face. Mouth spreading into the widest grin she had ever seen, Nami watched in silent horror as he sucked in air and turned to Nojiko. "You're the one Nami was looking for earlier!" He cried, pointing at the blue haired woman like crazy. Nami's pale face turned red faster than it had ever do so before. Hiding her cherry face in her hands, Nami groaned.

"So you do recognize me!" Nojiko declared, smiling at Luffy and smirking at her sister. Nami felt like slapping the cheerful sophomore, and groaned again. Past her ringing ears, Nami heard Luffy's laughter stop abruptly, and even Nojiko's accusation seemed to vanish from her ears.

"Yeah…yeah, I recognize you, Jiko-Chan," Nami said, trying to keep her voice impassive and failing. It was, after all, hard to simply accept the woman who walked out of your life twelve years ago with the promise to 'come back soon'. If she and Mamma had never left, then Papa wouldn't have become a drunk. It was, obviously, their entire fault for her misfortune. Theirs and Papa.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you Nami?" Nojiko asked, her voice slightly irritated as well as greatly relieved. Her green-brown eyes found brown, and simply stared into them. Tears stinging her eyes, Nami was the first one to look away; glaring at Luffy.

"Seeing as you stole my thunder, can you please leave my sister and me alone for a while?" She asked curtly, trying to keep her expression flat. Luffy stared into her eyes, and then nodded; obviously catching the hint, and probably something else in her expression. Though a moron, Nami knew that Luffy was very good at telling what his friends were feeling, despite what he showed.

Once he had left, Nojiko took his seat and threw her long arms around her. From her shoulder, Nami felt hot tears hit her shirt, and felt herself stiffen. "You have no idea how much I've missed you, baby sister!" Nojiko sobbed, holding Nami so tightly, the latter was slightly afraid she might cut off her circulation. Unable to speak, Nami bit down on her lip, and slowly raised her arms as well, holding her sister tightly.

"I think I do…because I've missed you more than you'd ever know."

With those words finally out of her mouth, Nami closed her eyes tightly and held her weeping sister, not willing to let the older woman go. It had been too long, far too long, and all Nami wanted was to hold her tightly. For a few seconds, the sisters simply held each other, one crying, and the other refusing to give in.

"If you tell me everything that's happened in these past twelve years, I'll tell you what I've done." Nojiko said, pulling away finally. Nami swallowed, and sighed.

"I don't want to know. I'll tell you…if you give me the reasons why you left."

Nojiko remained silent for so long, Nami was certain that she wouldn't reply at all. Eyes in her lap, Nojiko wiped her eyes three times before looking up again.

"Deal."

**A/N: Yay, it's done! Yeah, I know, rather heart-wrenching scene. Hmm…that's a bit weird that I can write those so well. =D Anyways, please review, and I'll try to get the next chappie up ASAP!**


	3. Chapter 3: Truthful Disadvantages

Screaming Infidelities

**A/N: Ah, you're reviews are too kind, really! X] Thank you to everyone that's taken the time out of their busy lives to read my new story, it means a lot to me! This chapter won't be as boring as the previous one, but it will be clearing things up. (= Please enjoy!  
You know, I got a review telling me that they were glad there weren't any couples. I'd like to clarify; they will definitely be couples. They just won't show up for a bit. Or maybe this chapter. You never know. I do. I'm just not gonna share until it gets there.  
Oh, right, yeah, I realize the school system is a bit weird. I'm basing it off an American school system, but the story takes place in Japan. I don't have the right knowledge of school courses/how they work in Japan, so the American system of where I live will have to do. Sorry if that upsets anyone.  
I do not own any One Piece character.**

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_Chapter Three: Truthful Disadvantages_

Before the two sisters could start their first ever heart-to-heart, the bell for the last period of the day rung, and they were cut short. Oba-San ushered Nojiko out, and kept Nami for a few seconds to examine her again. "Nami-San who do you have for eighth hour that would possibly be upset of your tardiness?" She asked, sighing at the younger girls' persistence to leave.

"Franky-Sensei, but I've missed the whole day, so I really need to get back to classes," Nami said, flinching slightly as Oba-San tenderly touched the bruise on top of her head. "Oba-San, I really need to get back to class." She said urgently.

The elder woman sighed, and stepped back. Handing Nami a paper pass, she held her palm up to stop her from simply running out the door. "You come right back if your head starts hurting, do you hear me?" She directed, sighing at Nami's hurried nod. "Go on, then. Tell Franky-Sensei that I was unwillingly to let you go if he asks why you were tardy."

Without answering, Nami rushed out the door, nearly running right into another student. "A-ah! Sorry!" She said immediately, stepping back. The other person merely laughed, and Nami's head shot up to see who was laughing. "Luffy?"

"Hey, Nami! I decided to wait for you, since your sister already left," he said happily, grinning at his friend. Nami smiled, but sighed. Together, the two began to walk slowly towards the nearest staircase in silence.

"Why did you tell Nojiko I was looking for her?" Nami asked as they hit the first step. Luffy grinned, and shrugged in response. As the two climbed the stairs, Nami suddenly felt as if they were being watched. Turning to her right, she saw a long blue pony-tail as it flew around a corner.

"What're looking at, Nami?" Luffy asked, leaning over the edge as he watched her. Ebony colored eyes squinted in his concentration, but he found no one, and turned to the red head in his innocent impatience.

"Nothing. Just a trick of the light," Nami said, looking away from the corner and back to the top of the staircase before she could trip. Being much more immature, Luffy jumped up the last two, and placed his hands behind his messy black hair as they strolled down the hallway to their locker.

"I need help with homework again," Luffy pouted at the metal door. Nami sighed in impatience. Torn between her impatience with him, her desire to help, and the tug at her heart telling her to talk to Nojiko before anything else, the teenager remained silent. Opening the locker and jumping back, Nami smiled when she realized that someone had put in her books neatly.

"I'll see what I can do, but do you think you hold off the blue day homework until tomorrow?" Nami asked, pulling out her books. Although she had always been firmly against procrastinating homework, Nojiko was much more important in her mind.

"Yep! That gives me more time to practice!" Luffy said happily, reaching over Nami and grabbing his math books. Nami grinned, and shut the locker. Once the lock was carefully locked, she turned to Luffy and smiled at him.

"I'll see you after school," she told him, walking past him and down the hallway. Luffy had called something out, but she hadn't heard him. Continuing down the stairs, she stopped dead.  
A teenager, definitely a sophomore, was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at Nami curiously. She had light brown eyes that were round and rather determined looking. A pony-tail trailed down her back, stopped midway. Bangs on either side of her face went down just past her ears, and stopped by her mouth. She was dressed in clothing that seemed so out of place, Nami resisted the urge to laugh – it was obvious that she had the money to dress in all the best clothing.

"Hello," she said, a slight southern accent lingering in her voice. Although Nami knew exactly who this pretty young girl was, there was no way she would admit to it. Not yet, anyways. "My name is Nefeltari Vivi, and I'm looking for Nico Sensei's classroom."

"Er…hi. My name is Nami. I can, um, show you the way, if you'd like?" The red head asked, staring at the blue haired person halfway down the stairs in what she hoped was a calm expression. Her whole body had tensed; first Nojiko, then Vivi?!

Vivi smiled, and waited patiently for Nami to finish walking down the stairs. Once the latter had reached her level, she realized that her assumption about Vivi being an underclassman was correct. Though Nami, Luffy and Usopp were all the same age for a period of two-four months, this girl seemed even younger than they were. "That would be great! Thank you, Nami-San," Vivi said, holding out her hand to shake. Slowly, Nami extended her own arm and shook the younger girls.

"So, are you a sophomore?" Nami asked conversationally, her heart racing. It was like when she had seen Nojiko – she barely knew both woman, but they still caused a tension within her that she couldn't explain. Oh, but Nami could explain this wave of tension; Vivi had been friends with Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro before she had, but had left. Although Nami had settled in nicely with the others, the fact that Zoro had seen blue hair and immediately thought of the woman next to her scared her. She had been replaced before, and Nami hoped vigorously that it would not happen once more.

"I am, yes. I meant to start class before the first of November, but I wasn't able to get back in the city before last week," Vivi said, sighing. From her voice, this was a very open woman. Nami instantly disliked this about her; for someone who had spent most of her life hiding things someone as open as this blue haired teenager was slightly repulsive.

"Ah. Why did it take so long for you to get back into the city?" Nami asked in spite of her dislike. Vivi's cheeks flushed, and Nami immediately felt bad. There was something about her, something that she had noticed in Luffy, which made you feel bad if you insulted them. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that." She said, sighing at her stupidity.

"No, it's fine. It's a bit of a sore subject, is all," Vivi said, shrugging. An experienced liar – and a good one, unlike Usopp – Nami knew it was much more than a sore subject. But, she chose not to mention it for sake of her own pride.

"It's alright. You know, you look really familiar…" Nami said, deciding that she might as well come out with it. It was pointless to try and hide it – if she made contact with Luffy again; he'd tell her everything, if he remembered.

"I used to go to school here. That was a long time ago, eight years, I think. I wasn't here for long, but I think I kind of remember you…" Vivi said lightly, making Nami's heart jump. It had been _eight_ years, Nami reminded herself, there was no way in _hell_ this blue haired girl could remember Nami from eight years ago.

"Really? What do you remember?" Nami asked, laughing. The two were now turning down the hallway with Nico Sensei's classroom. Unfortunately for Nami, the classroom happened to be all the way down the hall and this just so happened to be the longest hallway in the first floor. Feeling as if someone up in Heaven had it out to get her, Nami impatiently waited for her answer.

"Well, I was only eight, so I can't be sure, but you remind me of a girl that was in the class above me. I saw her a lot during recess, but she was always alone. Every so often, I'd catch her looking at my friends and I, and she even had orange hair like yours!" Vivi said, laughing as if the idea that the person she had described and the person she was walking with were the same people was absolutely absurd. Nami, however, remained silent. "Er…Nami-San…? _Was_ that you?" Vivi asked, catching on.

"Sounds a lot like me; I didn't really make any friends until the summer after I turned eight, so it might have been me. You know, that probably was me you saw. You were always hanging around with Luffy, Usopp, Zoro and Sanji-Kun, weren't you?" Nami said, the words slipping out faster than she could contain them. Thankfully, she said it in such a casual tone that Vivi wouldn't be able to recognize the blatant jealousy that had emerged in her gut. Vivi looked rather surprised at this, and her brown eyes grew wide.

"You know Luffy-San?" She asked, her voice so hopeful it made Nami stop walking. Her tone sounded so hopeful, so eager, Nami wondered why on Earth she might sound that way. Part of her wanted to demand an answer, but she collected herself and continued walking next to Vivi, picking the pace up considerably.

"Of course I know Luffy. We're best friends," Nami said, disguising her smug tone fairly well. Vivi's whole face lit up, and the red head watched in slight amazement as her whole complexion went from polite to eager.

"Ah, really?! That's great! I've wanted to see Luffy-San for so long, and now that I've met someone that knows him, I won't have to go searching for him! Thank you, Nami-San!" Vivi said, laughing cheerfully to herself. Nami laughed, and nodded.

"Well, here we are. But, out of curiosity, how come you've been looking for Luffy?" She asked, stopping in front of the closed door of Nico Sensei's classroom. Nami watched as Vivi's whole face went from cream colored pale, to bright tomato red. One eyebrow rose, and Nami waited patiently waited for her answer, already knowing what it was but wanting to hear it out loud.

"Er…I-I'll tell you later, OK Nami-San?" Vivi said, changing the subject hastily. Nami smiled, and shrugged. "I'll see you after class!" Vivi said, opening the door and disappearing behind the dark fake wood. Rolling her eyes, Nami began to walk back down the hallway, knowing she'd be incredibly late for Frank Sensei's class but not particularly caring. In fact, Nami thought, maybe I'll just skip it altogether.

Decided, Nami wandered up to the library, waving the pass Oba-San had written for her at the librarian, who didn't even bother to read it. Taking a cartography book from the shelf and settling in one of the big cushy armchairs, Nami looked around. Seeing only a freshman English class in the heavily windowed room, the red head scoffed and opened the book.

The book, as always, calmed her nerves instantly. Lost in the information of her dream, Nami read through the last hour of the day, ignoring the annoying freshman class as they walked past her, some trying to talk to her. Desperately wanting to tell them that she was so far out their league it wasn't even humorous, Nami remained silent and read. Occasionally, she would find a piece of information that she had missed in the many times she had the thick book – each time she read it, these occasions became more and more uncommon – and the teenager would jot it down in a notebook.

Reading was an activity that Nami rarely met at home – with Papa's drinking; it had proved to be impossible at being able to settle. Thus, the red head was immersed in the book so deeply, she didn't hear as someone approached her, nor did she hear her name being called by said person. Finally, the noise of someone sitting down in the chair next to hers forced the girl to look up, surprised. Blinking, she turned to the person and her mouth popped open in greater surprise.

"What are you doing in a _library_, Zoro?" She asked incredulously. Closing the book gently, Nami stared into the narrow eyes that were staring at her in amusement. Zoro shrugged, and lounged back in the plaid chair.

"Saw you through the window, thought I'd come in and bother you," he said, smirking at her. Nami rolled her eyes, and glanced at the clock. "Blondie was going frantic when you didn't show up to any classes. You and Luffy spend a romantic afternoon in Oba-San's office?"

Nami stared at him and tried to pretend her face wasn't turning red. Not that she had done anything of the sort, or ever planned to, but she always blushed at things like this that concerned her. "You're out of your mind, you know that right?" She retorted, rolling her eyes again. Zoro laughed, and leaned back.

"Whatever you say, Nami," he said calmly, knowing it would fire her up again. Not falling for the bait, Nami stood up, catching the thick book before it could fall to the ground. "So, did you ever find that blue-haired chick?"

It took Nami a moment to realize that he meant Nojiko, not Vivi. Nami grinned widely, and nodded happily. "Yeah, and guess what!" She said, pausing for dramatic effects, "She's my older sister!" She declared as loud as she could, considering they were in a library. Zoro, who must not have talked to Luffy about this, frowned in confusion.

"You have an older sister?" Zoro asked, his head titling a little bit. Nami watched him in slight amusement – he certainly did a bit like Luffy with his head like that. Realizing this, Zoro's head snapped back up, and waited for his friend's answer in his stony impatience.

"Yeah, her name is Nojiko. When my Mom left, she took Nojiko with her, and I guess she's back," Nami said, unable to hide the hopeful tone, "and maybe even Mamma's back as well." It was a wish she had long since given up, but seeing Nojiko again had given her a new sense of hope.

"That's awesome," Zoro said, and opened his mouth to continue speaking, but the shrill bell interrupted him, and Nami hurriedly left to put away her book. Together, the two left the library, beating Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy to their line of lockers. A mess of curly blue hair was waiting for them though, and Nami's whole face lit up at seeing her older sister again.

"Hey, Nami-Chan," Nojiko said, pushing off the locker to let Nami undo the lock. "And friend." She added, looking Zoro up and down. Zoro raised an eyebrow, and went to the locker four away from hers, twirling the lock to the correct numbers.

"Nojiko, this is Zoro – another of my best friends," Nami introduced, pulling down on the metal. The lock, however, remained locked, much to Nami's instant irritation. Mentally cursing the cheap lock she had stolen, Nami began to spin the dial again.

"Yo," Zoro said, not even waving. Too frustrated to notice, Nami hit her last number, and pulled down on the lock. Feeling the irritation slide out of her, Nami shoved her books back in the locker, and turned back to Nojiko.

"Ah, here comes the kid from Oba-San's office," she said, nodding towards Luffy. Nami smiled, and moved out of the way so he could put in his books. Nami grabbed his arm lightly, and he paused to look at her.

"I'm going to walk home with Nojiko-San today, so I'll see you guys tomorrow," she informed him, smiling at him. Luffy nodded, and went back to the locker. Zoro didn't contribute any inclination of having heard her, but continued on with working his lock. Nami chose to ignore him, and together the two sisters walked off. Pushing past people going the opposite direction, Nami led her older sister through the crowd, down the stairs, and finally out the front door. The campus, which had always been rather dull looking to Nami, was suddenly beautiful. Orange and yellow and red leaves littered the grass, and the sidewalks. The buses, which were in the back, could be heard from behind them, and Nami smiled.

"I guess I owe you an explanation, huh Nami?" Nojiko said as the two slowly made their way down the walkway. Nami tensed, and nodded. Nojiko sighed, and Nami waited patiently for the blue haired teen to begin. The blue haired woman finally sighed, and looked right into Nami's eyes, her own green-brown eyes filled with a sadness she couldn't quite place.

"Twelve years ago…well, let's just say things were a bit different. You were four, so you never understood, but we were poor; poorer than poor, really. Mom wasn't making any money, and Papa was drinking up what little we had left. Yeah, Papa's always been a drunk. I guess I should back up a bit, to before you were born. Before Mom and Papa were married, like, during the engagement, Mom got really drunk at a bar, and well…conceived me.

"Anyways, when I turned five, my real Father contacted Mom, and told her that he wanted me to live with him. He didn't want you – you weren't his kid, so he didn't care about you – and told Mom that if she didn't come along, then he'd…he'd kill you and Papa. Mom really loved Papa, and you, so she had to take the offer.

"Well, we left, and Mom turned to me and explained why you couldn't come, because I had asked her on the road. After she explained it to me, she also told me that by leaving, my Father would pay Papa, every week. He'd pay the rent on the apartment, all the bills, and give Papa a bunch of money for necessities. Mom had explained to Papa everything – including her affair – and he agreed that he didn't want me or her anywhere near him.

"It was horrible, living with that man. My Father, I mean. Judging from your size, and the way you took my reappearance, you haven't exactly had the best of lives, but Nami…believe me, you were better off. My Father was hell bent on making me into the perfect daughter. Mom wasn't much better off, honestly. And, when…when Mamma got sick, he was enraged. 'No woman of mine gets sick!' he had screamed, and kicked her out.

"I heard that she tried to get back to you and Papa, but she got mugged. We found her body at the hospital; they said that if the cancer hadn't made her so damn weak, she'd still be alive. But, the cancer had sucked all the life she had, for the sole reason she had waited so god damn long to tell him she was sick.

"Right after that, I took all the money out my account – I was eighteen, I had full access – and came back. I have an apartment nearby the school, and I spent a while getting set up before enrolling," Nojiko said, the words coming out in a mesh that Nami had to strain to hear correctly. The whole time, Nami felt her heart rate accelerate, but when she realized that her Mamma was dead, she felt her heart crack in two. It had been the hope of twelve years that Mamma would come home, just like before. That she'd open the door wide and make her grand entrance in that way only she could.

"Mamma's…dead?" Nami repeated in an extremely soft voice. Nojiko sopped walking, and engulfed her sister in a hug that nearly knocked all the wind out of her. Nojiko's arms were crushing her, and Nami hugged back, shutting her eyes tightly to make the tears not fall.

"I'm so sorry, Nami-Chan. Mamma…she wanted you to have this. It's a note she wrote you right before we left, but didn't manage to find a way to give it to you then. H-here…I have it in my bag," Nojiko said, trying to soothe her baby sister. Pulling away, the older girl rummaged through her bag, pulling out a slightly yellowed envelope and handing it to Nami.  
With shaking hands, Nami unsealed the envelope, and read her Mother's letter with eyes that were just begging her to release the tears.

_My darling Nami,  
If you're reading this, then Nojiko and I had either returned to you and Papa, or you somehow found us. Baby, I love you more than you'll ever realize. My sole regret regarding you is that I'll never get the chance to see you grow up, and instead only wonder how you're doing. Your Papa and I used to argue over whether or not you'd look like me, or if you'd be smart like he was, but now I wish I had spent those times with you and not with him.  
Hopefully you understand the reasons I left, and know that I would like nothing more than to stay and be with you. Of course, I can sit here and dream all I want, but what's done is done. I made the mistakes, not you.  
Nami, don't ever give up. If you do, just look at the picture I've left in your bedroom, and know that I love you more than words can ever describe. I could probably sit here and tell you I love you in so many different, I'll use up what little paper we have around the house.  
The other day, I caught you reading that map in the book Papa picked up from his work, do you remember? You were so little, I was positive you didn't understand it, but when I went to take the book away, you looked right at me and told me 'I wanna color a map like this!'. I was so shocked I let you read that book until bedtime. The only reason I mention it now is to remind you of that dream. To make sure that no matter what, you'll always keep fighting towards coloring that map!  
Love, Mamma_

Nami felt the world around her spin. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her vision blurred, and all she could feel was the pounding of her heart and the throbbing pain in her head. Distantly, she heard two people call her name, and then there was nothing. The last thing she could remember feeling was the wind on her back as she fell backwards, the ground beckoning the back of her head forward. And then it was black.

xxxxxx

When the young girl finally came around, she was laying on the grass, her head on top of something soft and yet still throbbing painfully. Groaning in the pain, she turned her head to the side, squeezing her eyes tightly to shield them from the blinding light above her. She could hear multiple people speaking, all of them moving around.

"She's coming 'round!" Someone called, and the others sighed in relief. Whoever had announced that she was waking up was now hovering over her, their hair tickling her face. "Nami-San?" The person asked, and Nami realized how high the voice was – had to be a girl.

"What happened?" Nami asked, her eyes fluttering open. The person hovering over her had long blue hair, and was slowly leaning back. Her expression had been both calm and worried, and was obviously the one who had been watching over her.

"You passed out, and almost hit your head," Vivi said. Immediately, Nami sat up, looking around at the faces that had witnessed her moment of weakness. Face flooding with color, Nami waved away Vivi's attempts at trying to have her lie back down and looked at her sister, who had been watching so intently, the red head wondered distantly if she remembered how to blink.

"Almost?"

"I caught you before you hit the ground! Shishishi!" Luffy cried out, grinning at his friend happily. Not helping in the embarrassment issue, Nami's face reddened a deeper shade, and she sighed greatly. Waving away Vivi's hands again, Nami slowly stood up, bringing the crowd with her. Head throbbing, she stumbled a bit, hands clamped over her head firmly. Before she could fall, a pair of strong hands caught her, and steadied her. Lingering on her arm, the owner of the hands looked down at her so seriously; Nami had to double-check to see who it was. "Since Nojiko and Sanji have to go work, Usopp is with Kaya, Zoro has training, and Vivi has to go home, I'm gonna take ya' home!" He told her, grinning widely at her.

"Sorry, Nami-Chan, I really need to get going," Nojiko apologized, smiling at her sister. "Here…you dropped this in the fall," she told her, handing the red head the envelope. Feeling slightly nauseous again, Nami took the letter and nodded. Sanji, Zoro, and Nojiko all headed away, each shouting out their own form of good-bye.

"Good-bye, Nami-San, Luffy-San," Vivi called, also leaving. Both cried out a 'good-bye', and Nami realized that Vivi must have told Luffy about their meeting in the hallway. Feeling rather flustered, the red head turned to look at Luffy.

"I can make it home by myself," she insisted, trying to pull her arm free. Luffy didn't relax his grip, but instead suddenly gripped it tighter. Before Nami could resist, she was thrown against his back in a piggy-back ride. "L-Luffy!" She cried out, being hoisted up for her comfort. Luffy ignored her, and laughed again.

"I told ya' that I'll take you home!" He cried, and started to walk. Nami, knowing it was useless to struggle, wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Feeling exhausted, she leaned her forehead between his shoulder and neck. Feeling very comfortable indeed, Nami closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep on the back of her best friend.

_Luffy's POV_

I don't know what I was thinking when I saw Nami faint. I just ran forward, so I could talk to her. She was my friend; I woulda done the same for Zoro or someone. But, she was falling. And her head had already gotten hurt today, because of me. I figured that if I stopped her from falling now, then I wouldn't owe her anything. It all made sense to me.

Sanji said I was heroic. I don't know what that means, but he said it while smiling, so it must mean something good. Oh, I know, I'll ask Nami! Nami always knows what words mean.  
"Hey Nami, what does 'heroic' mean?" I asked, turning to look at her. All I could see was her forehead, and her bangs. When she didn't answer, I decided that she must be sleeping, and shut my mouth.

I think about Nami a lot. The other day, she stopped passing back my rock-note, and when she came back, all she did was close the window. I wanted to run up there and make sure she was OK, but Zoro told me not to. I think she came to school with a big bruise on her arm, but I don't remember. Nami's so strong. Even though her Papa is an asshole, she manages to stay happy. And now her sister is back, so she'll be even happier!

I like it when Nami's happy. When she's happy, she doesn't hit me, or yell. I don't really care if she does, though. Sanji and Zoro yell all the time, and Gramps never stops yelling at me. But, when Nami yells, it makes me feel bad.

I asked my Gramps friend, Makino, what it meant to get happy whenever you see someone. She laughed, and asked me if it was a girl or a boy. When I told her it was my best friend Nami, she laughed again and told me that I had a crush on the girl. I don't get it. Isn't crush something Usopp does to ants?

I wanted to ask Nami, because Nami knows everything, but she was sleeping. I stopped walking and hoisted her up again. She was surprisingly light – didn't she ever eat? Just then, the idea came to me – why bring her home and hope that her Papa isn't mean today when I could just take her back to my place and know she's safe! It was such a good plan, even Zoro would be proud of it.

So, instead of turning left and going downtown, I turned right and headed toward Gramps house rather than her dingy apartment. I didn't like where she lived. It made me think of those people that Gramps had to arrest. Maybe he'd arrest her Papa one day, and she'd be free. That would be nice for Nami.

You know, Usopp told me that there were lots of girls at school that had a crush on me. I didn't really get it, but wouldn't that mean that they get happy when they see me? Usopp told me that it means they wanna date me, or something. I asked Sanji what a date was, and he said it's when two people who like each other get to know one another better. He also said that it was all part of being in high school, dating. Zoro told me it was a pointless invention flirty people like Sanji make up to get a girl in bed.

I really need to ask Nami to explain all this to me. She always makes sense when she explains things, not like the other three. Oh, maybe I'll ask Vivi. Vivi's smart too, so she'll probably know! I was so happy that Vivi came back, even though it is only for a little bit, like last time. She said that she convinced her Dad to let her stay here with her Uncle Pell, until the second semester. I don't know when that is, but I don't think it's for a while.

From my back, I felt Nami moving around. Her head left my shoulder, feeling it leaving cold. "Where are we?" She asked, yawning. I felt my face burst into a smile at her voice. I continued walking, heading right towards the shortcut to my house.

"Nami, what does heroic mean?" I asked instead, hoisting her up again. I didn't have to turn to know her expression – it was confused, with a bit of amusement. Shishishi, I know Nami well.

"It means when you're like a hero. Like, you save someone for no other reason other than you don't want them to be hurt," Nami said promptly, fidgeting on my back. I grinned, and laughed again. "Why, did you read the word somewhere?" She asked, yawning.

"Nope! When I caught you earlier, Sanji told me I was 'heroic' but I didn't know what it meant," I explained, puckering my lips again. Makino says that's what I do when I'm confused. I wonder if Nami's ever noticed that…

"Well, I guess it was heroic of you to catch me, especially as I didn't even know you were anywhere close to us!" Nami said, laughing. I felt my face break into a huge smile. When Nami laughed, that's what I did. Oh, that reminds me, I can ask Nami what a crush is now!

"Nami, what's a 'crush'?" I asked cheerfully, jumping over the ledge. I could feel a sudden heat from the back of neck, and turned to see what it was. Nami's face, which was usually a really pretty pale-ish color was more red now.

"A…'crush'? Like, what you feel towards someone?" She asked, sounding a bit uncertain. I puckered my lips again. Was it really that big of deal? I was about to tell her what Makino had told me, but she started speaking again so I shut my mouth. "Well, a crush is when you feel really special towards someone, like how you would feel for a girl. For example, if you liked a girl in your class, you wouldn't want to tell anyone until you were certain she had a crush on you back, otherwise she might get a bit freaked out. I know you feel especially about your friends, but a crush is a step farther than that – it's when they mean just a shade more than your friends."

Oh. You didn't tell people you had a crush on them. It's good that she spoke before I did, otherwise she might have gotten freaked out. "Do _you_ have a crush on anyone?" I asked, grinning at her again. The heat on my neck increased, but I kept looking forward this time. I didn't need to see it twice. I knew how pretty she looked all red like that.

"Didn't I just tell you that you don't tell anyone about your crushes, idiot?!" Nami asked, hitting the back of my head. I laughed, and shrugged. "But, since you're my best friend…I don't know. I've never really thought of it, honestly."

I puckered my lips again. "I have a crush on someone!" I told her, stepping up to my front door. Releasing her, I turned around to grin at her fully. "She's the greatest in the world!" I told her, spreading my arms wide. She looked really surprised.

"You have a crush on someone?" She asked, titling her head to the side. I grinned at her, and opened the door. She followed, sliding her shoes off as soon as she was inside. "Makino, we're back!" I called, kicking my own shoes off. I looked up, and immediately ran forward. Taking my straw hat from her hands, I pointed to Nami. "She fainted, so I brought her here instead of her apartment."

Makino looked up at Nami, who was bowing politely. "Oh, hello Nami-Kun, it's nice to see you again," she said, bowing as well. Nami smiled, and stepped forward. Makino smiled at her, and turned to leave. "I'm in the process of making snacks for Luffy-San. Would you like me to put aside some for you?"

I wonder what she means by that. Nami didn't, though. I can tell by her grin. "That would be lovely, Makino-San." She said, bowing again. Makino also bowed, and I watched. Makino always bowed to everyone, especially Gramps. I don't get it, really.

Once she had left, I turned back to Nami, and led her into the living room. "If you thought about it, who would you have a crush on?" I asked. She seemed a bit confused at this. I wonder why. Nami was never confused. She was too smart for that. So, I sat her down on the couch and decided that I would get my answer. Because I was crushing on her, and I wanted her to know it. She just had to feel the same.

_Nami's POV_

Truthfully, the first person that came to mind when I thought of 'crushes' was the boy sitting next to me, but I couldn't say that. It would be weird, especially as I could already tell that Vivi-Chan liked him. His smile…the way he was always there when I needed him…the way he could tell what I was thinking when no one else could…the way he hadn't run away screaming after seeing what my Papa was like.

"I don't know, idiot. I don't have time for romance – I have to think about my future!" I told him, making a fist. He pouted, and crossed his arms, obviously unsatisfied. I sighed. "Listen Luffy, I don't have the time for crushes, or anything to do with them. All they would be is a waste of my time."

"But, I wanna know who you would like!" he pouted, looking at me with puppy-dog eyes. I wondered if he realized how badly I blushed at that expression. I sighed, and looked down to pretend to think about it. I already knew who I could _imagine_ me liking, but I couldn't just tell him that, of all people. But, the more I thought about it – me crushing on my _best friend_ – the more sense it made. The way he seemed to actually care about _me_, unlike some of the other boys I'd seen lurking around school. The way he accepted me, ugly background and all.

The way he smiled at me. The way my skin tingled when he grabbed my arm. The way I gravitated towards him. The way I'd trust him with my life. The way we stayed up late passing rock-notes through my window. The way I would risk my own life just to see him. The way I'd give anything to be near him.

Damn it, this couldn't be happening! This wasn't _allowed _to happen! Monkey D. Luffy was the best friend I had ever had, and most likely would always have that title. Their friendship meant more than anything to her, and she wasn't going to ruin it. Not now, not ever.

But, it was too late. Because somewhere in my subconscious, I had already thought the words, admitting to them without even realizing it.  
I was crushing on him, Monkey D. Luffy.

Face suddenly reddening with embarrassment, I looked at Luffy, who was slowly starting to smile. I stared at him curiously, wondering what he could possibly be smiling at. Then it hit me – did I say that _out loud_?!

No, no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. This can't be happening! Absolutely not! Head throbbing again, I stood up quickly, and took a run towards the door.

"I'll see you Monday, Luffy!" I cried, shoving my shoes on. Luffy followed, staring at me curiously. I heard him say my name, but I was already out the door. Red-faced, I ran all the way back downtown, not paying any attention to those on the street staring me. Nearly throwing the door of the broken hinges, I ran into my apartment, slamming the dirty door shut. Papa, who was sleeping in his chair, was too drunk to realize what just happened, and I tip-toed to my room. Opening and closing the door with the quietest way I knew of, I fell into my chair, thankful that it was a Friday, and that I wouldn't be obligated to see him until Monday.

Burying my throbbing head in my hands, I sat there at my desk, using everything I had to prevent myself from crying. It was over was all that ran through my head. I had screwed up. I had _told_ him, flat-out! Feeling like a fool, I looked around for my bag – homework would distract me. Horrified, I realized I_ left my bag at Luffy's house_! Kicking the bed angrily, I threw myself on top, desperate from much-needed sleep.

**A/N: This chapter is definitely longer than the others...I just couldn't bring myself to stop writing! x] There, one couple slightly established! There will be a few more to come, I promise~ Ihat made me sad having to write that little scene. Poor Nami, she really messed up now, didn't she? NEVER FEAR. The story is not over, we still have the weekend! I think I'll actually have to cut the story a bit shorter than I originally wanted, but now that Nami so unwittingly admitted how she felt, it's going to have to go pretty quickly. Ah well, I'm sure it'll all work out! Thank you for reading my latest chapter, and please review~!**


	4. Chapter 4: Weekends

Screaming Infidelities

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read/favorites/alerted/reviewed this story! I think I've said this before, but it really does mean the world to me! Er…some people might be a little OOC, but for the most part, I've done my best to keep them all in character. (:**

**I do not own any character, I swear.**

_Chapter Four: Weekends_

Luffy stared at the door Nami had just ran out of. Truthfully, he didn't understand why she had just run out on their conversation like that. His eyes were fixed on the door; willing her to run back in and apologize, or something. Even though he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to do anything of the sort, he stood up to get some snacks. Walking only a few steps, however, he stumbled over something square and soft, like some sort of fabric. Catching himself and looking down, Luffy grinned – Nami's bag. Obviously she hadn't realized it was on the floor otherwise she wouldn't have left it here, he decided.  
"Luffy-San, did you slam the front door?" Makino called from the kitchen. Picking up her bag, he walked into the kitchen and sat down at one of the bar stools that decorated the kitchen. Makino said that Gramps had designed the kitchen for her comfort – she used to work at a bar until she came here a few years back. "Where's Nami-Chan?" She asked, turning around to look at him.  
"She told me she had a crush on me then left," Luffy said simply. He wasn't a liar – that was Usopp's job, after all. No, he was always one hundred percent honest with everyone. Especially Makino – she was the closest thing he had to a Mom anyways.  
"Really now…maybe she didn't mean to tell you that she had a crush on you," she suggested, placing a tall glass of soda in front of him. Luffy grabbed it and began to drink quickly, finishing the glass in just a few seconds.  
"Then why she did say it?" He asked. It didn't make any sense – Nami always thought things over before she said anything, so her saying something by accident didn't make much sense. Makino shrugged, and went back to preparing some food for him.  
"Maybe she was thinking it, and it just slipped out. Nami-Chan is only human, no matter smart she may be," she pointed out, her back facing Luffy. Luffy stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "If you like her back, you should go after her. Otherwise, someone else might take her before you can," Makino said softly, turning back to look him in the eye.  
"Someone else?" Luffy asked, anger suddenly rising in her stomach. In his mind, he imagined Nami walking down the hall towards their locker holding hands with – of all people – Zoro's cousin Cabaji, despite the fact that he hadn't been in town for months now, "But, I don't want anyone else to take her." He said, crossing his arms against his chest. Makino's serious expression vanished, and she laughed.  
"Then go to her house right now and tell her how you feel! The only thing left to do is tell her, and then everything will be perfect, Luffy," she said, chuckling as she took the glass back and began to wash it. Immediately, Luffy jumped off the stool and headed towards the door. Dragging Nami's bag with him lazily, he slipped his feet into shoes and left the house.  
It was already getting cold out – not to mention dark quicker. Though, being November first probably had something to do with that. As he started to jog towards Nami's apartment, he decided he'd ask her why it got dark and cold around this time. He'd ask her all the things that came to mind – like why her sister was back and if he Mom was back too. They would talk for hours, just like they did as little kids. The image seemed to warm Luffy up considerably – especially as he didn't bother to grab a coat. Slinging the strap over his shoulder, the teenager began to sprint to her house, desperate to get there as fast as possible.  
The walk to her apartment was a good twenty minute walk, and a normal person running was about ten minutes. Seeing as Luffy was not a normal person when it came to athletics, it took him seven minutes flat to reach the near run down building that housed two of his best friends. Looking around for a small stone, he dropped Nami's bag and began to toss rocks repeatedly at her window. It was the signal they had come up with years ago – tap until she answered then throw up the note.  
After what seemed like hours, Nami finally opened her window slowly, sticking her head out to scowl at whoever it was. At the very sight of her, Luffy felt his heart skip a beat, and he grinned. "Can you come downstairs?" He called up, pointing to her bag. Nami stared at him, her expression unreadable. Finally, she nodded and closed the window again. Luffy grinned, and sat down on the brownish grass in his impatience for her to come downstairs.  
"Thank you for bringing me back my bag, Luffy," Nami said when she finally reached the lowest level. Luffy sprang up and grinned, keeping her bag on the ground. "I was planning on heading over tomorrow to grab it, so this saves me a bit of time," she said, her voice oddly formal. Luffy smiled at her, and watched as she walked forward to take it.  
Makino had told him to come and tell her how he felt, but now he wasn't sure. He felt uneasy, extremely uneasy, and he wasn't even sure how to get the words out. "Nami, did you mean what you said in my living room?" Luffy asked suddenly, titling his head to the side. Over his hair, he felt his precious straw hat slip a bit, but it remained on his head.  
Nami grabbed her bag off the ground, but Luffy could see how tense she was. Turning back to him, she shrugged. "Just forget I said anything in your living room, alright?" She said in that odd formal voice again. "Thanks again for bringing back my bag." Turning to leave, Luffy caught her arm and she stopped.  
"Did you mean it?" He asked again, looking right into her eyes. For the first time, he realized just how beautiful she was. Her orange hair was blowing around her in the slightly rough wind, and her eyes were flat and looking down. The color reminded him of the numerous chocolate bars he and Usopp had collected for Halloween, only prettier.  
Nami looked right back at him, her expression still unreadable. "It doesn't matter. Just forget it," she said again, turning to leave. Stopped again by Luffy's grip, she sighed and stopped walking. Luffy stared down at her, and she frowned. Nami had never really seen Luffy serious – sure, he had his moments, and she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't as stupid as some thought of him – but for the most part, he was always happy and obnoxious.  
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, both waiting for the other to reply. Finally, Nami sighed and looked away. "Yeah, I meant it. But it won't change anything, so just forget it," she said, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "I'll see ya' Monday."  
Luffy shook his head, releasing her arm. He felt really warm, and his heart was beating really fast. It reminded him of how girls reacted when Sanji talked to them – they got all blushy when he flirted. Oh. Was that why he felt warm? Was _he_ the one blushing? "I like you too," he said, looking away. Now he felt really nervous. Distantly, he recalled a conversation between Sanji and him when Luffy had told him he was kinda interested in someone.  
'Well, when or if you finally tell the lucky lady, you'll probably be really nervous. If she feels the same, she'll probably be even more nervous than you are, so be prepared. If she doesn't believe you – and a lot of girls don't – then you'll have to convince her. It's a lot easier said than done, too. Just keep on telling her how you feel, and she'll eventually get it. And, after she believes you, hug her.'  
Nami stared at him silence, and the intensity of her gaze broke through Luffy's thoughts. Her expression was now clearly readable – shock, disbelief, and a hint of sadness. Wait, she was _sad_ that Luffy felt the same way? Finally, Nami laughed, confusing Luffy even more. "Right. Luffy, you shouldn't say something like that so lightly. You could really hurt a person like that," she said, smiling at her friend.  
Luffy frowned. "I'm serious. You said that you have a crush on me, right? Well, I feel the same!" He exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and holding her in place. Nami still stared at him, any trace of a smile gone now. "I would never lie to you, Nami, ever!" He told her, sighing.  
Watching her expression carefully, Luffy felt his face go hot again and he released her. The two stood in an awkward silence for a second while Nami stared and Luffy looked away. Maybe she didn't really feel that way, he realized silently. Maybe it was just…one-sided. As he turned away, a hand grabbed his arm gently, yet it kept him in place. Turning back to Nami, he saw his friends own pale face flooded with color. "You…do?" She asked softly. Her eyes were both soft and determined, and it made Luffy feel like jelly.  
He had never had this happen to him. Girls were just like guys, only prettier and a lot less strong. Vivi and Kaya made him happy, sure, but not the way Nami had just now. The way she smiled at him, the way she explained everything he didn't understand, even the way she'd argue with him. Luffy knew right there that he didn't ever want anyone else to feel that way about her. This was a feeling not to be shared with anyone else. "Yeah, I do," he told her softly, turning back to her.  
Nami's face suddenly lit up in a way he had never seen before. She was positively glowing now. It made Luffy's own face break out into a huge grin, and he stepped closer to her. He was blushing brightly, but he didn't care. She believed him. She honest to God believed he felt the same about her as she did about him. Before he could say anything else, her arms were wrapped around him, locking him into a tight embrace. Immediately, Luffy's arms rose and held her to him.  
For a full minute the two stood there, blushing and hugging. Finally, Nami tensed and pulled away. "Luffy, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I completely forgot about Papa…I'm sorry!" She said, grabbing her bag and rushing to the steps. She paused, and turned back to him. "Er…" she said, turning away.  
"Will you go out with me?" Luffy suddenly blurted. It was as if Sanji was commanding his words from afar. Nami stumbled a bit at his sudden exclamation. Luffy stared at her, waiting in tense silence for her answer.  
"G-go out?" She stuttered. Her face colored a red darker and faster than Luffy had ever seen it. He didn't move, just waited for her answer. Suddenly, she smiled, "Yeah, of course I will," she said, grinning at him and rushed into her building. Luffy stood there for a few seconds, dumbstruck. She had…agreed. His face slowly broke into a smile wider than any other, and he ran into the building after her, rushing to Zoro's apartment as fast as he could possibly. Opening his front door, he walked right past Zoro's Mom and right into his bedroom.  
Zoro's head shot up at the sound of his door slamming shut. He blinked, trying to figure out if Luffy was real or not. "Whattya doin'?" He mumbled, yawning widely. Still grinning, Luffy sat down on the floor by his bed, crossing his legs.  
"Nami told me she had a crush on me, so I went and told her I had a crush on her, and I just asked her that question Sanji always talks about, and she said yes!" He said happily, laughing. Taking his hat off and placing it in his lap, he looked around. Although him, Sanji, Usopp, Zoro, Nami, and Vivi way back when had spent hours at Zoro's house before he moved, none of them had ever actually been in his bedroom. It was pretty empty except for a large weight set in the corner, and a desk opposite of it.  
"Slow down, Luffy. Start from the beginning and explain it slower," Zoro said, pushing himself into a sitting position. Luffy turned back to his friend and grinned again.  
"After school today, Nami told me that she had a crush on me, but then ran away. So, I was talking to Makino about it, and she told me to go after her before someone else got there first, and I told her I felt the same way – just like Sanji told me to! And then, just before she could walk back up to her apartment, I asked her if she'd wanna go out with me!" Luffy explained, leaning forward for emphasis. Zoro stared at him blankly, obviously lost.  
"When did you and Nami start likin' each other?" He asked, running a hand through his short, but messy, green hair. Luffy grinned, and shrugged. "Jesus, wait till Vivi and Sanji hear about this. Bet it'll blow them away."  
Luffy laughed, and nodded. "Probably, but I don't care. Because I really like Nami and Nami really likes me and now we're together!" He said, clapping his hands together once. Zoro grinned down at him, and held out his fist. Luffy bumped his own against Zoro's and leaned back. "Can we go up and see her?"  
Zoro laughed, and shook his head. "Her Papa is a pain in the ass when it comes to her friends, so we'd just get her in trouble," he pointed out, yawning again. Stretching his arms above his head, he laid back down on the bed. "Luffy."  
Luffy stared at him. Titling his head to the side, he placed his precious hat on his head. "Yeah?" He asked confusedly. Zoro smirked up at the ceiling.  
"You ever hurt her, and I'll kick your ass. I don't give a damn if you didn't mean to. Hurt her in any way, and I swear to you now; it'll be the last thing you ever do. Got that?" He said. His voice was as casual as he could make it, but Luffy could hear the threat buried beneath it. Zoro had always been more like a brother-figure to Nami, as Luffy knew well.  
Luffy crossed his arms and smirked back at his green haired friend. "I would never hurt her. She's my friend." He said, nodding seriously. Zoro grinned, and sat back up.  
"No, she ain't your friend anymore," he said slowly. Luffy stared at him flatly. The green haired teen laughed and shook his head, "Now she's your _girlfriend_, kiddo." Zoro smirked as he watched Luffy's reaction. First, it was confused, and then it turned into a happiness Zoro hadn't seen on his friends face in a while.  
"You're right! Nami's my girlfriend now!" The younger teen said, clapping his hands together again. Zoro grinned, and the two began to talk about other things. Grades, school, Vivi, Usopp and Kaya, and even Nojiko were the things that came up.  
Zoro seemed greatly interested in the older teenager, though he tried not to show it. "You ever talk to the woman just one on one? Jesus, she's vague! I couldn't get a damn answer that made sense out of her after school!" He complained, rolling his eyes. Luffy grinned at this comment.  
"Shishishi, she seemed nice to me!" He said, shrugging. Zoro rolled his eyes again, and sighed.  
"Yeah, she seems _nice_, but she's a bit…I dunno, over-bearing, or something," he said, shaking his head. Luffy grinned widely, and glanced at the clock. "Getting kinda late…wanna call it a night?" Zoro asked, yawning again. Luffy turned back to him and nodded.  
Standing up, he waved at Zoro. "I'll come see you again if I stop by Nami's house tomorrow," he called as a good-bye. Letting himself out, he silently slipped outside into the cold November night. Feeling happier than he had in a long time, he began whistling to himself cheerfully.

xoxox

As her two best friends talked happily two floors down, Nami was sitting on her bed and trying very hard not to touch her newest wound. Although it wasn't exactly new, her Papa usually stuck to punching her arm or slapping her, so when he threw an already broken bottle of beer at her, she hadn't had time to duck and avoid it. Now a rather large cut was on her right hand where she had lifted a hand in reflex.  
Cursing silently, she wrapped more cloth around it. Nami knew it wasn't the best way to go when treating wounds, but it was the only method she had at the moment. Until Papa was asleep, she was confined to her bedroom as always. It was better that way, though. If she was locked in her bedroom, he couldn't hurt her as easily. Nami had always been good at protecting herself from Papa's wrath; hide away until he called her out.  
Instinctively, Nami could not bring herself to be sorry she had broken the rules and left the apartment. For starters, she needed her bag to do homework. Besides, if she hadn't gone outside, then Luffy wouldn't have told her how he felt, and she'd still be a single woman.  
Automatically, Nami's whole face broke into a smile. Her first boyfriend was her best friend. Only, he wasn't just her best friend anymore. He was her boyfriend. Nami laughed at her own thoughts – she was running around in circles. She reached her for her bag, to finally start on that homework, but stopped. There wasn't a chance in Hell she'd get any work done like this.  
Wishing desperately that Nojiko was here, Nami began to pace her room. She was too restless for sleep, for homework, for anything and she knew it. Pausing, she sighed. This was, she thought irately, impossibly frustrating. She wanted to talk to Luffy, not be stuck in her bedroom while her drunken father guarded her bedroom door. Anger suddenly welled up in her, and kicked the fragile nightstand over, which fell with a satisfying thud.  
Not quite meeting her desire to destroy something, she picked the nightstand back up. Allowing it to remain standing for a measureable amount of time, the red head suddenly reached out and grabbed the fragile nightstand. Flinging it to her right, she watched in silent awe as the wooden piece of furniture was reduced to nothing more than splintered wood. Finally happy with her result, she sat down on her bed.  
The door to her bedroom suddenly sprang open, causing Nami to jump off her bed in surprise. She shouldn't have been nearly as surprised as she was, she decided. Loud noise meant disruptions, which meant Papa was angry. Angrier than usual at any rate, "P-Papa, I can explain!" She cried out, forgetting again her own rule.  
Eyes narrowed, her father stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. In a desperate attempt for freedom, Nami grabbed onto her desk. Missing the hard wood by inches, she instead grabbed her bag off the desk and dragged it behind her. Without a word, he flung his daughter into the living room. Landing painfully on her knees to the left of his chair, Nami scrambled back, getting distance between her and her father.  
Papa, however, didn't touch her again, but sat down on his chair. Grabbing his beer can, he drank deeply for the metal can while Nami watched in curiosity. "I don't want you back in that room. You stay out here with me now," he said, his words slurred to the point where Nami had to run the words through her mind several times to understand. When she didn't respond, he threw his empty can at her. Hitting her head with a 'thud', Nami remained completely silent; shaking slightly, but refusing to give in.  
"I saw yer slut of a sistah' today," he said after a few minutes passed. Nami's slight tremors froze in action, and her eyes widened. "Walkin' down the street like she had e'ry right tah be there…jus' like that whore of a Mama you got."  
Anger welled up inside her again. Slowly, Nami stood up, staring down at the man who had made her life Hell for the past twelve years, "Don't," she said quietly, "talk bad about my Mom and sister."  
Papa eyed her in amusement. He began to laugh harder than Nami had ever heard him. Nami stood her ground, and continued to stare right into his eyes as he laughed. "What are _you_ going to do, eh?! Stand here and defend whatever I call em'?! You can't do shit!" He cried at her when he recovered. Nami attempted to swallow the lump growing in her throat, but otherwise remained still. Without warning, he reached for her and grabbed her neck, pinning her at arm's length against the wall. "Yer as useless as yer Mama and sister, you know that?! I don't even know why the hell I kept you around for so god damn long! Hah, probably because all you'll ever be good for is getting my beer!" He screamed, the horrid smell of alcohol blowing into her face, along with flecks of his spit.  
"Fuck you!" Nami choked out, wrenching free. He stared down at her in disbelief – never before had she ever fought back. "Fuck you, and fuck your beer!" Nami cried as her vision went cloudy with tears. Grabbing her bag, she stormed into her room, and grabbed the picture of her Mother, Nojiko, and herself. "Get your own damn beer." She said scornfully, glaring at him one last time before slamming the front door behind.  
Never before had rage consumed the red head as it did now. Shaking as she shoved the old photograph in her school bag, she walked down the stairs so quickly, people would think someone was chasing her. Pausing at Zoro's floor, she stared down at the hall. At that moment, Nami was tempted to crawl into his apartment and let herself loose, but something told her that wasn't a good idea. Having no idea how much time had passed since she and Luffy became a couple, she continued outside, but it was completely dark now, so he had to be home.  
Nami stay rooted in place. Papa wasn't the kind to chase after her, but she simply didn't know where to go. She could go to Luffy's, but something told her that wasn't a good idea either. Sanji was working until closing time a few hours from now, and she couldn't ask him to give that up, nor would Zeff let him. Sighing, she began to walk to the left – not caring exactly where she was going.  
After only thirty or so seconds of aimlessly walking, she heard her name being called behind her. Automatically, she began to walk faster – if it was Papa, then she was screwed. The person called out again, and Nami broke into a sprint, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she did so. Her bag was flying behind her, but she ignored it – her only thought was to get as far away as possible.  
Suddenly, a warm hand caught her arm, and she stopped. Falling backwards onto whoever had just caught her, Nami closed her eyes tightly in wait for whatever punishment she was about to receive. "Nami?" The person said, his voice oddly familiar, "What happened?" The person asked, his voice a mixture of concern, innocence, and worry.  
"L-Luffy?" She asked softly, rolling off him. Sitting up, she stared disbelievingly at her friend – _boy_friend, she corrected mentally. "What…why aren't you home?  
Luffy sat up, and replaced his hat on his head. In the dark, Nami prayed he couldn't see her tears, which had spilled over finally and were streaming down her cheeks endlessly. "I was talking with Zoro," he explained, standing up and holding out an arm to help her up. Shaking, Nami looked down and buried her face in her hands. "Nami," Luffy asked again, kneeling down next to her, "what happened?"  
Nami shook her head, hiccupping loudly. The last time she had cried was that time in her bedroom, and her body wasn't used to it; her shoulders heaved and she was shaking mercilessly. Without needing to hear a reply, Luffy draped an arm around her and pulled her into an embrace. Nami choked out a sob and leaned into him, clutching onto his shirt.  
The two sat like that for quite a while in silence, before Luffy finally pulled her to her feet and began to steer her back to his house, not listening to any complaint she had. While they were walking, Nami grabbed onto his hand so she wouldn't fall behind – not realizing how, now that were a couple, she could do that any time. This time meant something, not just them walking down the hall or to the park. This certain moment meant that she, Nami, needed him, whether or not he realized just how much.

xox

The next afternoon, the new couple found themselves walking with Usopp to Kaya's house, where they'd then go to Sanji's, then Zoro's, then Vivi's. As they planned, Usopp stared with disbelief at Nami, who was dressed in some of Makino's smaller clothes. They had explained the circumstance – not including the break down – and Usopp agreed to keep quiet until they got Kaya, Vivi, and Sanji together to announce the news.  
"I can't believe it!" He kept on saying, despite Luffy and Nami's many attempts to get him to believe. "I just can't believe that you two, _you two,_ are a couple! Nu-uh. Nope, not possible." He said, shaking his head. Nami watched in some amusement as his curly hair slightly bounced at the motion.  
Luffy was happily running ahead of them, attempting to race cars. Nami was walking with Usopp a ways behind, watching him in slight amusement. "You better start believe it, Usopp. It's definitely true," she said, chuckling. Usopp, the grand liar, would automatically assume she was lying.  
Usopp shook his head firmly. "You and _Luffy_?!" He repeated, crossing his arms against his chest as they walked. Nami chuckled at his unspoken logic.  
"Trust me, I didn't expect it to happen either," she insisted, shrugging. That was one of the most truthful things she had ever said; it just happened, whether or not people chose to believe that.  
Her long-nosed friend sighed deeply, looking out at Luffy in the distance, "Kaya-Chan figured this would happen," he said seriously in a low voice. Nami smiled automatically – Kaya was far more observant than she was at any rate, "I wonder how Vivi will react. Probably not what she expected, coming home for a few months and finding you and Luffy sudden a couple," he said, sighing.  
Nami tensed. Vivi's reaction was what worried her the most, out of everyone she knew. Odd, as she hadn't known the girl long enough to know her very well, but she wanted Vivi and she to be friends, and the new relationship between Nami and Luffy could jeopardize that. "Yeah, I know what you mean," she said under her breath, smiling at Luffy as the two reached him. He smiled back at them both, and pointed at a large house on the corner.  
"This is where Vivi lived last time, right Usopp?" He asked, not noticing as Nami tensed again. Her gaze shifted to the house, and she felt her stomach flip – Vivi's family must be _loaded_ to afford such a house. A wrap-around porch was decorated by the occasional potted plant, and clean looking wicker furniture dotted around. It was rather Western, Nami thought.  
Usopp squinted at the house, trying to determine whether or not she still lived there, "You know, I think she still does live there. When she's in town anyways," he said after a few minutes of Luffy's impatient bouncing. A wide grin suddenly appeared on their friends face, and he darted up the walk-way and bounced up the door. "Luffy!" Usopp cried out, staring open-mouthed at his friend. Nami, however, followed him as fast as she could, slowly walking up the steps.  
Luffy grinned at her again, and knocked on the large door several times. From behind them, Usopp was muttering to himself about how crazy they were, but remaining on the sidewalk in case they were wrong. The door slowly opened, and a narrow figure appeared. "Ah! Hello, Luffy-San!" He said happily, opening the door wider. Luffy grinned wider at him, and Nami smiled hesitantly. "Vivi-Chan, Luffy, Usopp, and one other young girl are here to see!" He called behind him, turning back to Luffy and Nami, "And who are you, young lady?" He asked the redhead politely.  
"My name is Nami, I'm a friend of Vivi's," she said slowly, trying to ignore the protectiveness in his voice, the way he seemed to care so much of Vivi. It made her a bit sick, truthfully.  
Vivi suddenly appeared behind the man, wearing a skin-tight tank-top and long blue jeans. Her whole face lit up when she saw the two – or, as Nami suspected, Luffy – and then turned to the man. "I'm going out, Uncle," she said hurriedly, slipping past him. He grinned, and nodded. "Bye!" She called, politely closing the door behind her. Luffy grinned at her cheerfully as they all started to head down to Usopp. "Where are we headed?" She asked after greeting Usopp.  
"Me and you are gonna go get Zoro and Kaya, because they live kinda close, and Luffy and Nami are gonna go to Sanji's place and get him," Usopp said promptly, hands on his hips, "Then we'll all meet up at the playground!" Vivi nodded, obviously remembering their grand club. Nami felt a sudden, unexpected stab of jealousy – she'd have to adjust to the thought that Vivi had known her friends longer than she had, and would have been in the group if she hadn't left. Vivi nodded, turning to Nami.  
"Are you feeling better, Nami-San?" She asked, genuine concern in her voice. Nami smirked, and waved her words away. The blue-haired girl nodded, smiling, "I'm glad. I was worried you might have hit your head again at your house." Nami laughed as if it hadn't been very possible for a head-injury to occur at her home.  
Luffy grabbed Nami's arm, sending tingles up the latter's entire arm, and began to take off, turning partially to the other two, "We'll see ya' at the playground!" He called, not waiting for any affirmation before running off with Nami in tow. The redhead tried to keep up with him, but the younger boy was just too fast for her. When she cried out these thoughts, he instantly stopped and slowed to walk, releasing her arm.  
A sudden impulse took over the girl, and she reached out and grabbed his hand in her own. Luffy looked down at their intertwined hands, then back up to Nami, a smile spreading on his face. "That's right! We can do stuff like this now!" He declared, laughing. Even the redhead couldn't contain her laughter at his blatant innocence.  
"That's right. We can do stuff like this now," she agreed, feeling any tension fly out of her body. She'd just leave Vivi to her imagination for now, and befriend the blue-haired girl regardless of her new relationship. Besides, Vivi didn't strike Nami as the type who would hold a grudge over something as petty as a boyfriend.  
The couple began to talk about nonsense things – mostly Luffy asking questions and Nami answering. The two went about like this until they reached the restaurant that Sanji worked at most days, and then lived above when he wasn't elsewhere. Luffy released her hand, leaving it slightly cold, and ran up to the door. Instead of knocking, however, he sucked in a huge breath, "SANJI!!" he screamed. The scream was so loud that Nami had to cover her ears, laughing all the while.  
From above them, there was an audible crash, loud swearing, and the movements of someone around. A window smashed open, and an extremely irritable Sanji poked his head out, looking down at his friend that suggested he would rather murder the boy. "What?!" He demanded, a long white unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he spoke. Nami grinned, and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's way of doing things.  
"Sanji-kun, come downstairs! We're all meeting at the playground, and it simply wouldn't be the same without you," she cooed, batting her eyes. Sanji grinned, nodded, and retreated back into the apartment. Nami turned to Luffy smugly, "That's how you go about things. Screaming at people to wake them up doesn't usually work," she told him, grinning. Luffy grinned, but Nami could see that it didn't reach his eyes. Her own smile was wiped away, and she stared right into his dark eyes. "Luffy…? Is everything alright?"  
Luffy stared right back at her, his expression unreadable. Before he could say anything, however, Sanji came lumbering down the stairs, his clothes neat and as crisp as was his style. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, his slacks touching his heel, and the cigarette being lit. "Let's go," he said, causing the couples heads' to snap up in surprise. They all exchanged smiles, and set off.  
"You guys want to come by the Crap-Geezers place for lunch later?" He asked after a few minutes of walking. Nami smiled instantly, and Luffy's expression went from unreadable to excitement in less than a second.  
"Yes, please!" They both cried, all three laughing. Nami watched in curiosity as her boyfriends tension drained away from him, and the walk passed without difficulties. By the time they reached the playground, they were the last ones there, and they all ran to reach them faster. As always, Luffy beat them both, Sanji in second and Nami in third.  
Once all greetings were exchanged, Luffy sucked in another burst of air, and Nami thought for a wild moment he was going to scream again, "I have something to tell everyone!" He announced just loud to get everyone's attention. Three sets of different colored eyes all turned to him curiously, and Nami felt a smile creep onto her lips at their expressions. Vivi's was amused, with a touch of hopefulness. Kaya's was curious, and slightly tired. Sanji merely looked curious, and still slightly irritated at being awoken in such a fasion.  
Luffy took in another deep breath, and smiled widely at Nami before speaking again, "Me and Nami are going out!" He said, clapping his hands on his lips. Nami felt her face grow slightly red at his words, as she hadn't exactly said the statement out loud. Kaya and Sanji's mouths dropped open for a second before grinning happily. Vivi simply looked dumbstruck, but concealed it behind a large smile.  
"That's go great!"s "Congratulations, Nami,"s "When the hell did that happen?"s filled the air, and Nami had to whistle loudly with her fingers to get all the questions to stop. All eyes turned to her as she sighed, and shook her head.  
"Last night, after school was when it happened, so it's not like we've been keeping it a secret or anything," she said casually, shrugging. Luffy grinned, and turned to Zoro to say something. Kaya smiled kindly, and nodded, while Sanji lit another cigarette. Vivi turned away from the group, trying to pull on a smile.  
The group began to occupy the playground as usual, except for Nami and Vivi, who sat at different swings to observe. When she was positive the blue-haired girl was looking the other way, Nami glanced at her and instantly wished she hadn't; Vivi's whole expression screamed that she felt betrayed, replaced, depressed, and angry. Wanting to say something to help her but not knowing what to say, Nami continued to swing in silence, not even muttering a hello to Kaya as she sat down in the swing between them.  
Her plan had seemed so simple on the walk to Sanji's, but it appeared as if Vivi would be hurt for a long time. Swearing her horrible timing, the redhead pumped her legs harder on the swing to go higher, trying to clear her head of uneasy thoughts.

**A/N: D8 I'm sorry this came up so late! I had an overload of things going on – friend issues, parent issues, and then I got semi-grounded from the computer. Bleh. I'll try to update as often as possible from now on!  
Reviews are loved~**


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